Voices of Resilience pt2: Dnipro Firefighters Share Their Story Amidst the War

Today we share the story of firefighters from Dnipro, a city in Ukraine enduring the harsh realities of war. They have witnessed the devastating impact on their community and demonstrated remarkable strength. Read their heartfelt experiences below and consider donating to our fundraiser to support these brave heroes in their life-saving efforts: https://gofund.me/1a272aaf

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, our work has changed dramatically. We have faced the greatest tragedy and sorrow that can happen in life — war. As a result of enemy missile attacks, entire apartment buildings, residential homes, and critical infrastructure are being destroyed. We have never encountered destruction on such a scale before.

During every response, there is the threat of a second missile strike, the danger of structures collapsing in destroyed multi-story buildings, and so on. Every response becomes a new challenge for a rescuer, and each one requires a wide variety of approaches to save lives. Rescuers exert maximum effort to rescue the injured as quickly as possible and eliminate emergencies.

I think that now every rescuer has been in a situation where enemy missiles were heading directly toward the place where they were working. Unfortunately, many of our comrades have been killed by treacherous missile strikes directly targeting rescuers. In Dnipro region, emergency workers have repeatedly come under secondary missile strikes.

Personally, the most tragic incident for me happened on April 10, 2022, when we, along with the firefighters, were dealing with the aftermath of a missile strike in the city of Dnipro, and about 40 minutes later, the enemy treacherously attacked us again. My wife, who was also working there, was severely injured. I and four other rescuers sustained various injuries and were hospitalized.After such calls, you look at the situation very differently. You realize that the lives of not only the people we are rescuing but also the rescuers themselves depend on our actions. Also, when we hear the command "Attention! Air raid," we’ve learned to run much faster!

For me personally, the most difficult challenge was the response on a day off, during a holiday, when a missile struck a 9-story residential building in the city of Dnipro. It was truly horrifying. A large number of injured, trapped, and deceased people. The building collapsed from the 9th to the 1st floor. There was a threat of further structural collapse, and people were pleading for help... We did an immense amount of work that day.

We are ordinary people, and we have hearts too. It's hard to pull entire families from under the rubble... children... It's tough to lose our comrades. But what can we do? These are difficult times we're living through. We support each other, try to distract ourselves, and make an effort, even if just a little, to devote time to our hobbies to take our minds off things. Each of us has a family, and daily life hasn't stopped, so life goes on.

This is the job we chose with our hearts and souls. People count on us, and we have no right to let them down. No matter what happens or what state of mind we are in, we will always come to help.

Faith in a better future comes from people. Believe me, when disaster strikes as a result of missile attacks with large-scale destruction, we are the first to arrive, and we work regardless of time or fatigue. But when our strength is at its limit, and we look up, we see a crowd of people who have come to help us. I'm talking about volunteers who set up their tents within hours, allowing us to drink tea and eat a sandwich. These are ordinary people who bring water, shovels, gloves — everything necessary. These are people who personally help the victims, who help us... That’s what gives us strength; it truly boosts our morale. People.Also, when we hear simple words of gratitude, it gives us the understanding that our efforts are not in vain.