Have a blast New Year's Eve while helping Ukraine's first responders

Those ringing in 2023 at the 50s-style New Year's Eve Vegas Night at the MVE Heritage Centre in Cremona will have a blast while supporting first responders in Ukraine.

The event is being staged in support and involvement of the nonprofit Firefighter Aid Ukraine (FFAU), which has been supplying life rescue and health care aid since 2014.

Captain Dean Krupa, of the Calgary Fire Dept. and a long-time resident of Cochrane, says this event is fundamental to support the efforts of FFAU. 

It's evening dolled up as a 1950s Vegas-style way to greet the New Year. Music, dancing, Elvis impersonator, Ukrainian dancers, fun money casino, dance contests, firefighter and showgirls photo booth, great food, champagne, and fireworks are all part of the evening.

Those purchasing their tickets by Dec. 10 will be entered into an early bird draw for a trip for two to Vegas. There's also a raffle during the celebration for a roundtrip flight for two to any regularly scheduled WestJet destination. 

To encourage safe driving, round-trip bus transportation has been arranged across the region, including Cochrane, Water Valley, Cremona, Airdrie, Crossfield, Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs, Sundre, and Calgary. It's included in the price of the ticket.

Captain Dean Krupa, of the Calgary Fire Dept. and a long-time resident of Cochrane, says this event is fundamental to assist the efforts of FFAU.

"It's a fantastic opportunity and something different, a beautiful venue, something you won't do twice and see again because it's so different than the usual New Year's Eve parties that go on, so I'm really hoping people will take a look at it and come visit us in Cremona."

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FFUA has now accelerated its support by delivering critical aid to Ukraine. In short order, they collected and recently shipped 14 tonnes of life rescue equipment, PPE, and medical supplies.

A sampling of the equipment recently shipped to Ukraine by Firefighter Aid Ukraine. (Photo FFAU)

Krupa says once the conflict broke out their focus didn't necessarily change but it became more enhanced. He says the initial aim was to outfit Ukrainian firefighters with protection gear which we take for granted.

"They were basically dealing with equipment that would be somewhat equivalent to equipment that you'd see in firefighting in the 1950s and 1940s. So our goal was to basically provide our brothers and sisters over in Ukraine with equipment to bring them into the modern firefighting age."

"Once that conflict broke out, we also started taking over some humanity aids, medical supplies, because not only were these firefighters dealing with firefighting as you would normally expect it to be, but they were dealing with it in a war zone, and that's a whole different kettle of fish."

Krupa sprung into action after becoming aware of extraction equipment available that had been life cycled out, something he says Ukrainian firefighters don't have access to at all. It's since been shipped and received.

"Before the conflict broke out, the second leading cause of death for Ukrainians was car accidents. Obviously, the conflict has changed that, but it's still a reality, and they didn't really have the equipment to properly deal with that."

It's also portable and can be used for urban search and rescue.

"So moving chunks of concrete, cutting rebar, which is perfect right for all the collapsed buildings right now with all the bombing going on and the strikes happening."

"The equipment we were able to send over is incredibly timely and incredibly valuable and I'm just proud to be a part of it."

Now comes phase two. A team of firefighters, including Krupa, is being sent to train Ukrainian firefighters in proper vehicle extraction techniques when conditions are deemed safe by their Ukrainian counterparts.

In the meantime, more items are being collected and stored in Cochrane for the next shipment.

More supplies are being warehoused in Cochrane in preparation for the next shipment.

Since its creation, FFAU has worked with the state emergency services and volunteer brigades in Ukraine, building strong relationships in Kyiv, Lviv, Uzhgorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Odessa, Chernivstsi, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, and Nikopol. To date, over 140 tons of life rescue and health care aid have been delivered.

Doors open for the bash at 7 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite here.

They are also available through Jana Husmann of Royal LePage Benchmark, and Joni Ferguson, Brokers for Life, who are acting as Cochrane community liaisons for the charity event.