(1) Ukrainian firefighters chase a mock wildland fire as part of their hands-on training. 

The International Fire Relief Mission recently finished a week-long visit to the Kherson region of southern Ukraine to complete the first delivery and training phase of humanitarian aid efforts that began more than a year ago.

IFRM collected donated firefighting equipment from across the United States, selected items that were most needed by Ukrainian firefighters as identified by an IFRM fact-finding team, and shipped the materials by sea to Kherson. IFRM was pleased to see the firefighting equipment arrived as shipped and easily cleared Ukrainian customs, said IFRM President Brian Abbott. This is a clear sign they are serious about improving their firefighting capabilities, he said.

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“During our team’s preliminary visit we saw an obvious need for modern turnout gear, wildland firefighting tools and fire prevention and public education materials,” Abbott said. “Thanks to the countless fire departments who donated to us and our corporate partners, we could supply this region’s fire department with exactly what they need.”

IFRM partner Lion made a significant turnout gear donation. In addition, Lion laundered and repaired at its Chicago TotalCare Center all the donated turnout gear destined for Ukraine. Going this extra step is part of Lion’s promise to the fire service, said Lion CEO Steve Schwartz.

(2) Ukrainian firefighters get their first look at donated U.S. firefighting turnout gear, which is much different from their current gear that lacks thermal and moisture barrier layers. 

“Lion is committed to protecting all firefighters from both the seen and unseen dangers on the fireground,” Schwartz said. “Firefighter cancer risk does not end at the U.S. border, and we could not in good conscious send those Ukrainian firefighters gear that may harbor carcinogens and other contaminants.”

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Lion, also donated one of its training products, a new BullsEye digital fire extinguisher training tool and smoke generator. Trainees use the laser-based fire extinguisher to knock down a realistic simulated fire. The smoke generator enhances the training experience.

“On our first visit, we saw the department had the building blocks in place for a community risk reduction program,” Abbott said. “They lacked portable, reusable and realistic training tools to take their prevention efforts to more people. And their firefighters were skeptical when they first saw the device. But once it was set up and they ran through some hands-on training, we didn’t need an interpreter to know they understood how useful it will be.”

(3) Ukrainian firefighters take in a classroom session on wildland fire suppression before heading out for hands-on training. 

In addition to providing the firefighters with instruction on the safe use of the donated str