Founder’s Story.

Firefighters Without Borders was founded in 2009 in memory of Kevin Bailey, a firefighter with a passion for life and a love of humanity.

“Kevin was a firefighter with a passion for life and a love of humanity,” said the crew’s captain, Alan Hills. Following his tragic death in a rock-climbing incident, his crew members started thinking about how they could honour Kevin’s memory.

They contacted World Vision and learned about Ventanilla, Peru, a poor district where a fire had recently left 604 people homeless; an immediate connection was sparked. The crew wanted to help the local volunteer fire brigade better cope with these types of disasters, so they collected donated equipment and travelled to Peru. Their counterparts in Ventanilla were thankful for the Canadians’ generosity. “This was our first experience in receiving brother firefighters from overseas,” says Captain Raul Thais. “We didn’t expect to receive so much equipment, but we are really grateful because it was needed for so long.”

Today, the non-profit organization continues to honour Kevin by reaching out to communities throughout Canada and around the world, providing equipment and training to help fire departments and volunteers build capacity and better protect their communities.

We hope that Kevin would be proud of what his friends and Firefighters Without Borders have accomplished in his honour.