When CJ Summers headed to Ukraine last month, he didn’t really know what to expect.
“You’re not too sure what you’re stepping into,” Summers said about travelling to the war-torn country. “The organization prepared us as best they could.”
The organization in question is Firefighter Aid Ukraine (FFAU), and Summers is one of the two District of North Vancouver firefighters who is back home now after travelling to Ukraine on a 12-day mission teaching dozens of students rope rescue skills.
The experience changed his perspective on his job as a firefighter, he said.
“We were doing some very technical things that students might never have seen before,” Summers said. “But it was eye opening … it’s one of the most difficult things to accomplish a task or teach something when different areas in Ukraine don’t have the same equipment to accomplish that task.”
Summers and fellow firefighter Ryan Svendsen went to the country as part of a partnership with FFAU, a non-profit organization that works with state emergency services and volunteer brigades in Ukraine.
The two trained and worked with more than 60 students in three cohorts from different parts of Ukraine, Summers said, going through challenging scenarios such as residential training in abandoned buildings and mountain rescues, including going down cliffs and doing highlines.
Earlier this summer the fire department fundraised for their mission and to cover the costs of brand-new gear and equipment for firefighters in Ukraine. This year $10,000 was raised through the Firefighter Charitable Society and sent to FFAU, said firefighter veteran Jared Reynolds.
Harnesses, different rigging mechanisms like clutches and captos, ropes and other types of safety gear were brought over, Summers said, and the country’s national emergency service now has the gear.
Summers said he was able to bond with some of the students during their training days, connecting with them on Instagram to stay in touch.
But on the second day Summers returned to Canada, he saw on the news that a strike was carried out in Sumy, Ukraine, and messaged one of his students to make sure he was safe.
His student was safe, but the moment made Summers think about his position.
“We get to come back to relative safety, and they’re still in Ukraine, doing a job that’s way more dangerous than what we do on this end,” he said. “It’s just so humbling, but so incredible to work with some of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
Now that the two firefighters have returned to Canada, Summers says the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services alongside with the City of Edmonton’s Fire Rescue Services Edmonton are continuing to collect funds for the FFAU.
“We did our little bit in trying to help them train, understand and bring over some gear that will hopefully save not only their lives, but the lives of people that they’re trying to save every single day.”
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
