The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) has taken on an unrelenting burden since Russian forces invaded more than two months ago. Among other tasks, the SES’s 60,000 responders put out fires, search for survivors buried under rubble, clear landmines, and recover the dead—all while being shot at and shelled by the Russian military.

On today’s episode, we speak with a top SES official about the situation for responders in Ukraine, how they are persevering, and how the global community can help (1:53). Then, we talk with a Canadian firefighter who founded the organization Firefighter Aid Ukraine, which since 2015 has delivered many tons of much-needed equipment to Ukrainian responders (16:08).

LINKS:

See photos and read more about the experience of Ukrainian first responders in this online feature from NFPA Journal

Learn more about Firefighter Aid Ukraine.

If you have questions, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hello, you can reach the NFPA Podcast at [email protected].