Volunteer firefighters from East Anglia have returned from a 2-week humanitarian mission to Ukraine, where they delivered emergency aid – including a former Isle of Wight fire engine – to frontline communities.
The team, led by the humanitarian non-profit Actions Beyond Words, successfully delivered 2 fully reconditioned fire engines – one of which was an old Bembridge pumping appliance (HW05 AAZ) – as well as emergency medical equipment and critical supplies to communities affected by the war.
The fire appliances, previously in service with the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, were donated and refurbished for redeployment to the frontlines of humanitarian need.
While stationed on the outskirts of Kyiv, the team was present during one of the most severe missile and drone attacks on the city since the start of the invasion. A ballistic missile was intercepted close to their accommodation, underscoring the risks faced by aid workers operating in the region.
Simon Massey, founder of Actions Beyond Words, greeted the firefighting team in Poland, where the non-profit operates a 12-bed volunteer base near the Medyka border crossing. He said:
“While this conflict has faded from some headlines, the need on the ground is more urgent than ever. These deliveries aren’t just symbolic—they are strategic, they are needed, they are co-ordinated with local aid organisations and local government, and they save lives.”
During the aid mission, the team also responded as first on the scene on the outskirts of Kyiv to a serious road traffic collision, delivering emergency care having already suppressed a wild grass fire in the Carpathians, deploying the newly donated engine before it reached its final destination.
The latest delivery marks the 3rd and 4th vehicles sent by the organisation to Ukraine since January, just the latest aid package since the beginning of the war.
This international effort was made possible through support from Actions Beyond Word’s global supporters including WDRAC Japan, whose funding underwrote this entire operation, and the Pomerleau Family Foundation (Burlington, USA), a long-time backer of the charity’s crisis response programmes.
The convoy covered nearly 3,000 miles, driving through Europe and across Ukraine to reach key locations in Mizhhirya (Western Ukraine) and Zmiiv (Kharkiv Oblast, Northern Ukraine), which have suffered significant depletion of their emergency service capacity, with modern equipment requisitioned for military use.
The local community of Mizhhirya, which continues to receive evacuees from active conflict zones which fill their hospitals, has received the new engine. This new delivery replaces a vehicle that was no longer serviceable.
In Zmiiv, the donated equipment will help establish a newly built fire station, extending protection to remote rural villages in this high-risk region just 39 miles from the Russian border.
Actions Beyond Words are actively fundraising for their next projects in September, more engines and more aid.
