A few weeks back, we talked with Eric Hille, a San Miguel, California firefighter about his plans to take a team of volunteers to Ukraine.

The mission, called Task Force Joint Guardian, would be the first-ever effort to send civilian firefighters and paramedics to an active overseas war zone.

Eric served two tours in the Army, and coupled with his experience as a firefighter, has the right skill set to run this operation. He solicited donations of equipment and funds to start sending rotating teams to help the Ukrainian first responders.

The first group was a success—they spent eight days working side-by-side with the Ukrainian firefighters. He’s now getting ready to send the second team. A third and fourth mission are being prepped.

Eric Hille is an Engineer with the San Miguel Fire Department. He also runs the “US/Mexico Firefighters United” nonprofit aid organization.