Simcoe County doctor and soldier at Ukraine border aiding fleeing families
A family doctor from Orillia and a soldier from Bradford joined thousands of volunteers trying to save lives at the Ukrainian/Poland border.
Both men felt compelled to help the refugees desperate to flee their homes amid the Russian invasion.
Brodie Fountain describes seeing young families, women and children targeted by human traffickers posing as rescuers at the border.
"They can walk out with a sign and say, 'Yeah, I'll take you to Germany. I'll take you to Spain, or wherever, and people pile up in the cars because they're fleeing for their lives, and they're gone," the Bradford soldier says, adding the victims are preyed upon after they finally make their way to what should be safety.
"It's terrible. It's disgusting. It's horrible."
Fountain is part of a group of volunteers made up of mostly military veterans.
He has been in Ukraine and Poland for two weeks delivering supplies to people forced to leave their homes and run for safety. He says some are stranded at the humanitarian aid centre.
"They're dealing with the issues of the red tape to get them through."
Meanwhile, Dr. Jeff Pitcher has been treating mainly women and children steps from the border crossing, most suffering hypothermia, stomach flu and infections from gunshot wounds.
Pitcher, a family and emergency physician in Orillia and Muskoka, is no stranger to providing aid in disaster zones, having volunteered with the Salvation Army after Canadian floods, Hurricane Katrina and New York City after 9/11.
Pitcher says once they reach the border, most people break down in tears at the thought of finally being safe.
"Today, there was a lady who came from Mariupol. Her family died from one of the shellings. She escaped," he says.
The local doctor says he went to help simply because he could.
"I know I have the skills that can help, and I was hoping I could help these people that have been struggling through this escape that they've done."
Both Pitcher and Fountain will return to Simcoe Muskoka this weekend, but Fountain says he plans to head back to Ukraine and calls on the Canadian government to do more for those with nowhere to go.
He organized a GoFundMe campaign hoping others would help him help Ukraine.
"These great people didn't ask for this, and they need our help to get through it," he states.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.