Edmonton firefighters preparing for Ukraine mission offering life-saving training, equipment

A group of Edmonton firefighters will soon make the trip to Ukraine to bring equipment and help train first responders there.

Firefighter Aid Ukraine (FFAU), a local charity, has assembled a group of translators and firefighters who will share lifesaving skills with their Ukrainian counterparts in the new year as the Russian invasion of that country continues.

The group will teach a modified version of the NATO standard Tactical Combat Casualty Care course, something volunteer Stephen Ferry says is important since many new Ukrainian first responders have stepped up to serve for the first time as the conflict began.

Ferry, a current firefighter and former military medic who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, says the course will be structured in a way to train the initial participants, who can then, in turn, train others.

"It's like a train-the-trainer model," he explained. "We show them how to do it, and then we show them how to show others how to do it."

One of those critical skills is a program called Stop The Bleed, which focuses on halting severe hemorrhages after traumatic events in public spaces.

"If we can't control deadly bleeding, nothing else matters, particularly in a traumatic incident," Ferry added.

The group gathered in Edmonton Saturday to practise teaching and working with a translator.

"[It's] almost like a dry-run of making sure that our presentations make sense, that our linguists have the right verbiage so that we can present the right words to our target audience, which is actual Ukrainian firefighters and police," Ferry said.

"You just have to be patient, and you stay away from medical terms and teach what needs to be taught," he shared.

Firefighter Aid Ukraine prepares for its training mission next year by hosting a rehearsal in Edmonton on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 (CTV News Edmonton/Amanda Anderson).

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The group has several Ukrainian newcomers who have volunteered to return to their homeland and act as translators.

Nikki Booth, FFAU communications manager, said they are still fundraising to cover travel costs and to buy teaching aids to leave behind in Ukraine.

"What we would love is $50,000 or $60,000," Booth said.

"I think everyone knows that first responders are like a family and that doesn't change just because they're in another country," she added. "There's just such a passion and a heart on both sides to come together and help."

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FFAU was established in 2014 and shipped more than 209 tons of aid to Ukraine, included 89 before the Russian invasion began.

Kevin Royle, FFAU volunteer board director, visited Ukraine 10 years ago and realized that many first responders were operating without proper equipment and training.

"When I came home, I wanted to try and do something," Royle recalled. "So we started collecting equipment and shipping it over to Ukraine."

Those needs have only become greater, he says, amidst Russian shelling and missile strikes.

"It allows first responders, firefighters, to do their job more efficiently, more effectively," Royle said. "It allows them to go home safe to their families.

"It's not just the equipment, but there's a real hunger for the knowledge that goes along with the use of that equipment."

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Nana Kim moved to Canada with her husband around 11 months ago. Her remaining family is still there. After settling into living in Edmonton, Kim says she wanted a way to still help her friends and family and that FFAU offered a perfect opportunity to serve.

"You feel like you're doing something not only for Ukraine but also for the community as well that you are living in now," she told CTV News Edmonton.

"You don't need to put yourself in danger doing to the battlefield, because I wanted. And he said, you can do more here, and that's amazing."

To donate or learn more, visit Firefighter Aid Ukraine's website.