About Us
Firefighters Helping Firefighters
A volunteer-driven organization based in Edmonton, Alberta — protecting those who protect Ukraine since 2014.
Our Story
Firefighter Aid Ukraine began in 2014 when Edmonton firefighters learned their Ukrainian counterparts were responding to emergencies without basic protective equipment. What started as a single shipment of donated gear has grown into a sustained humanitarian operation.
Today we purchase new, collect, refurbish, and deliver firefighter protective equipment, specialty rescue tools, medical supplies, and hospital equipment, and provide hands-on training in tactical combat casualty care, technical rescue, and K9 search and rescue.
Over a decade of work alongside the State Emergency Services and volunteer brigades has built strong relationships in Kyiv, Lviv, Uzhgorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Odessa, Chernivstsi, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, and Nikopol — and to date we have delivered 580 tonnes of life rescue and health care aid.
Every member is a volunteer. Every dollar goes to the mission.
Our People
Leadership
Kevin Royle
Director
Anatoli Morgotch
President
Chris Perka
Vice President, Logistics
Stu Shaw
2nd VP, Warehouse
Dennis Perka
Treasurer
Alina Totska
Secretary
Operations & Coordination
Joanne Harle
Financial Planning
Hawkins Choi
Fundraising Manager
Olha Sakuma
Volunteer Coordinator
Vitaliy Milentiev
Ukraine Operations
Andriy Yuzyuk
Ukraine Local Support
Vacant
Communications PIO
Vacant
Social Media Manager
Members at Large
Eva Durnan
Member at Large
Linda Plomp
Member at Large
Bryce Nixon
Member at Large
Our Journey
2014
It begins with an occupation
Russian forces occupy Crimea and war breaks out in eastern Ukraine. Edmonton firefighters Kevin Royle and Anatoli Morgotch, who had seen Ukrainian crews working without proper gear or training, decides to act. Firefighter Aid Ukraine is founded.
2015 – 2017
Building trust, one shipment at a time
FFAU forms lasting partnerships with Ukraine's State Emergency Service and volunteer brigades in Kyiv, Lviv, Odessa, Dnipro and beyond. In May 2017, a 12-metre shipping container of medical supplies, tools and rescue equipment is sent to Ukraine.
24 February 2022
Full-scale invasion
Russia launches its full-scale invasion. Eight years of groundwork suddenly become a lifeline — and FFAU's network is already in place.
10 March 2022
A week's work, a chartered plane
FFAU collects 14 tonnes of rescue equipment, PPE and medical supplies in seven days — work that normally takes over a year. A chartered cargo plane leaves Edmonton International Airport. Within 24 hours of landing, two semi-trucks cross into Ukraine and hand the equipment directly to the State Emergency Service.
26 March 2022
The world sees EDMONTON
International news broadcasts show Ukrainian firefighters battling a blaze near Lviv — one of them wearing a turnout coat marked EDMONTON. Online accounts claim the footage is staged. It isn't. The coat came from our program, and independent fact-checkers confirm it. Our gear, on the front line, seen around the world.
August 2022
A faster route
Rather than chartering aircraft, FFAU begins loading pallets onto passenger flights wherever cargo space exists — moving donations to Ukraine faster than ever. By this point, 89 tonnes of aid have been delivered since the invasion began.
Winter 2023
Not just equipment — training
FFAU's first combat first aid mission. In Kolomyia, western Ukraine, our team trains roughly 80 doctors, paramedics and first responders to treat massive hemorrhage, internal injury and obstructed airways — the injuries of war.
2023
We go back
A second training mission brings more Edmonton firefighters to Ukraine to teach combat casualty care. Alongside them travels Torch, a Belgian Malinois trained in explosives detection, donated to serve as a demining dog.
2024
Ten years in — and a new problem
A decade of work behind us. FFAU identifies the next gap: water rescue. With dams and infrastructure under attack and flooding on the rise, Ukrainian crews are being sent into rivers without the training or gear to survive them.
Spring 2025
Into the water
After months of building international partnerships, our instructors cross into Ukraine on foot, carrying gear. Over six days they train 32 Ukrainian rescue technicians in swift water rescue — from a calm river in town to a fast mountain current. By now, nearly 500 tonnes of aid have been delivered.
2026NOW
Ice Rescue
Our current mission: train 50 rescuers across five regions in ice rescue, and equip them properly. Right now, Ukrainian crews are pulling people from frozen lakes with a rope tied around their waist — if that. We're changing it. As of July 2026, around 580 tons of aid have been shipped to Ukraine.