(Pictured - my brother left + me a couple of years ago. Sadly, i've lost the shorts)

TL;DR - driving a pickup to Ukraine, delivering good/helpful stuff. please consider donating.

Please help me deliver urgently needed lifesaving vehicles and equipment into the hands of beleaguered Ukrainian firefighters

Ukrainian firefighters respond daily to Russian missile and drone attacks on civilians, often involving collapsed buildings and mangled vehicle wreckage - while their own stations and vehicles are being destroyed.

When a fire engine is lost, it isn’t just equipment - for the people trapped under rubble it’s the difference between escaping alive or not being reached in time.

Firefighters and emergency vehicles have been repeatedly targeted, including during so-called “double tap” attacks when responders arrive on the scene and a second strike deliberately follows. Communities are being left without protection, and exhausted crews are forced to do more with less.

That’s why, in a few weeks’ time, I and 9 other volunteers, led by two UK firefighters, will be driving a convoy of five rapid response firefighting vehicles from the UK to eastern Ukraine — each equipped with life-saving rescue and firefighting kit and ready to go straight into service.

Our convoy will help put working firefighting vehicles and equipment back on the front line and restore cover to areas that have lost it.

How you can help

Our convoy needs to raise funds so we can:

• Prepare and deliver firefighting vehicles from the UK to Ukraine

• Equip them with essential firefighting and rescue gear

• Transport and hand over vehicles directly to verified Ukrainian emergency service partners

• Help rebuild a bombed-out fire station in east Ukraine

Mike Pitney and Global Reach Aid

After an award-winning career as a fire officer spanning 26 years, Mike retired as Station Manager (Kent and London) and set up Global Reach Aid, a CIC (Community Interest Company) whose mission is to: Act swiftly, deliver directly, and make an impact where it truly matters