The long flight from Krakow to Edinburgh had yet to land, but Mark Allan had already decided on his next mission: bringing rescue equipment to emergency workers at the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine.
As a volunteer with the Scottish Emergency Rescue Association (SERA), Huntly firefighter Mark has travelled to Ukraine three times since the war-torn nation was invaded by Russia last year.
In March 2022, he dramatically recounted how he and some fellow Scottish firefighters handed over PPE and other vital equipment as gunfire echoed nearby.
In early June, Mark and 14 others returned to the country, bringing four fire engines filled with essential kit for Ukrainian rescue workers.
On his first trip, he encountered coaches full of women and children fleeing towards the Polish border.
But this time Mark explained that life in Lviv, Ukraine’s sixth largest city, had adapted to something of a “new normal”.
Despite numerous checkpoints and armed patrols across the city, he said, “people were getting on with it”.
Not so for those living in the Kherson region in the south of Ukraine…
What happened in Nova Kakhovka, and what is Mark doing to help?
The Nova Kakhovka dam ruptured last week.
Thousands of people were evacuated from towns and villages on the banks of the Dnipro River as water cascaded across the region.
Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam, while Russia has blamed the Ukrainian army.
People living in areas affected by the collapse have warned of the spread of disease and other contaminants after sewers backed up and dangerous chemicals were released into the floodwaters.
Mark told us that he is now eager to waste little time in returning to where the help is needed most.
It was on that flight back to the safety of home that the Huntly man learned of the disastrous dam collapse.
While the next official trip is pencilled in for September, Mark hopes to “return within days, instead of weeks”.
He said: “If we need to deliver it ourselves then if I’m available, and needed, I will go.”
What equipment might Mark Allan take to Ukraine dam collapse site?
The chairman of SERA, Gary Bennett, told us that the charity is “currently sourcing boats and water rescue equipment to be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible”.
Gary added that SERA’s partner organisation Blythswood Care has helped to provide inflatable life jackets, throw lines, and dry suits all ready to be sent to Ukraine.
SERA is in talks with Scottish Fire and Rescue about donating redundant boats and other equipment.
They hope to deliver equipment in the next several weeks.
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What motivates Mark Allan?
Mark told us about a firefighter he met in Lviv, who had been separated from his wife and daughter for more than a year during the height of the fighting.
“The respect we showed him was returned to us,” Mark said.
“He thought a lot of us and respected what we have done by bringing what we can to help.
“Firefighters have a bond almost like family no matter where in the world you go.”
‘We could hear gunfire’: Huntly fireman’s ‘heartbreak’ at watching women and children flee Ukraine
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