When we picture firefighters, we imagine flames and dramatic rescues. In Ukraine, their frontline is a war zone.

Ukraine’s fire and rescue teams respond not only to fires and floods, but to missile strikes, drone attacks, and mass-casualty scenes. They work beneath air-raid sirens, among shattered streets and collapsing buildings, never knowing if another strike is seconds away.

Firefighters are often the first to arrive after an attack. What they find is devastation: burning rubble, destroyed homes, and the small, heartbreaking traces of ordinary life — children’s shoes, scorched toys, family photographs buried in dust. Each scene is a reminder that next time, it could be their own home, their own families.

Many are sent into areas under the constant threat of “double-tap strikes”, where Russian secondary attacks deliberately target rescuers. They go in unarmed and unprotected, running toward danger while others flee — risking everything to save whoever is still alive.

For over a decade, British charity FIRE AID and International Development has partnered with the State Emergency Services of Ukraine (SESU), delivering vehicles, specialist equipment, and expert training to help responders save lives under extreme conditions. Since the full-scale invasion, over 155 fire and rescue vehicles and hundreds of thousands of pieces of equipment have reached stations across Ukraine.

BUT more is needed, thousands of rescue vehicles have been destroyed, hundreds of fire stations destroyed and hundreds of firefighters have lost their lives.

We are raising money through the EBRD Community Initiative Grant to replace some of the equipment which has been destroyed. Any money we raise is doubled by the bank and means we can double our impact on both Ukrainian firefighters and the communities they serve.