On September 17, Ukraine celebrates Rescuers Day — the professional holiday of the State Emergency Service (SES) staff, firefighters, bomb disposal experts and everyone who is first to help during fires, accidents and shelling. Here you will find short Rescuers Day wishes, words of gratitude from citizens, messages for colleagues and for rescuers’ loved ones, official greetings and poems. Other professional dates for the year are in our calendar of professional holidays in Ukraine.
Happy Rescuers Day! Thank you for your courage and readiness to help.
Happy professional holiday! May every call end happily.
Happy Rescuers Day! Strength, endurance and safe shifts.
Thank you for being there in the hardest moments. Happy professional holiday!
Happy Rescuers Day! Take care of yourselves — you are so needed.
Congratulations! May fate protect you the way you protect others.
Words of gratitude for rescuers
Dear rescuers! Happy professional holiday. You are the first to go where everyone else runs from: into fire, under rubble, into destroyed buildings. Thank you for every life saved. We wish you health, strength and a safe return home after every shift.
Happy Rescuers Day! Your work is an everyday act of heroism that often goes unspoken. We bow to you and your families.
Happy SES Day! Thank you for your courage, professionalism and humanity. May all harm pass you by.
For fellow rescuers
Brothers and sisters, happy professional holiday! Thank you for having my back on every call. May everyone come home from every shift safe and sound.
Happy Rescuers Day, colleagues! I wish you quiet shifts, reliable equipment and a strong team.
Happy professional holiday! We know the value of every minute — may our work always end in a rescue.
For your partner, husband or son
My love, happy Rescuers Day! I am proud of you every day and wait for you after every shift. Take care of yourself.
Son, happy professional holiday! You are our hero. May every call end well and may warmth always wait for you at home.
My rescuer, happy holiday! Thank you for your courage and kindness. I love you.
Official greetings
Dear State Emergency Service staff! Warm congratulations on Rescuers Day. Thank you for your courage, professionalism and dedication to protecting people. We wish you good health, strength and peace.
Our team congratulates all rescuers and firefighters on their professional holiday. Your work is the guarantee of our safety.
How to celebrate with the team
Thanks and certificates — recognise everyone's contribution, even with a few words at a team meeting.
Morning flowers for the office — a bouquet for the team or small arrangements on each desk set a festive mood.
A team photo — take a group picture to hang in the office or post on the website.
A wishes board — everyone leaves a few kind words for colleagues on sticky notes.
An informal get-together — lunch, a picnic or a board-game evening after work.
What to write on a card with flowers
Happy birthday! May this bouquet remind you how many people love you.
For the best moments of the year — flowers, sincere words and hugs.
May every day be as bright as this bouquet.
Happy birthday! Wishing you health, peace and joy in the little things.
Sign the card by hand: even two lines in your handwriting mean more than a long printed message.
Rescuers Day poems
You go where fire and danger are, Where every second saves a life, May luck be with you near and far And keep you safe from every strife!
Happy Rescuers Day, brave and true, Strength and courage, luck to you! May every shift pass calm and bright And home be waiting warm at night!
Flowers for rescuers and their families
A bouquet for the professional holiday is a warm gesture for a female rescuer or for a rescuer’s wife or mother. Male rescuers more often receive a restrained bouquet or a basket — and the best gift is sincere gratitude. Another holiday for those who save lives is Nurses Day; gift ideas for men are in our birthday wishes for a man.
Every year on September 17. In 2026 it falls on a Thursday.
Which Ukrainian word is correct: “riatuvalnyk” or “riativnyk”?
Both are used. The official name of the holiday is Den riatuvalnyka, while “riativnyk” is common in everyday speech.
Who is congratulated on September 17?
State Emergency Service staff: rescuers, firefighters, bomb disposal experts, divers, 101 emergency dispatchers and everyone working in civil protection.
Another holiday for those working in the toughest conditions is Energy Workers Day (December 22).
While rescuers deal with the aftermath of attacks, the Air Force repels them every night. See Air Force Day wishes.
Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
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