It doesn’t matter where in the world you are, firefighters simply want to help.
That is the whole purpose behind the Firefighters Without Borders – Canada Bombero mission. Two groups of firefighters, made up of a large contingent from the Quinte area, made their way down to the Dominican Republic, with the goal of making over 45 firefighters not only better, but safer, at their jobs.
In Padre Las Casas, two and a half hours north of Santo Domingo, eight firefighters spent their day getting ready for a week of training; checking out the recreation centre where the training will take place, touring the fire station where many ‘students’ will be coming from and making sure they have what they need to do their jobs.
The highlight of the day came early in the afternoon after being told one of the trucks at the station that would be used for training hadn’t run in two months. This was not good news as they had planned to do live fire training on our last day of teaching.
So, they did what they came down there to do; help. They grabbed some lunch, went back to the hotel, got some supplies and went back to the fire station and got to work.
Working hard to get a tanker truck back up and running after sitting idle for two months. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
It was frustrating because not only were the trucks old and unfamiliar to the mechanics who made the trip, but proper maintenance is not as prominent at this station as it is back home. Teaching these firefighters that if you look after your equipment, your equipment will look after you definitely slid its way up on the lesson sheets.
After some instruction, tinkering and a lot of help from Google Translate, the truck finally started and the smiles on the faces of those who work at the Padres Las Casas fire department went from ear to ear.
It didn’t matter that parts still needed to be ordered in get the truck back up to standard to do its job. The fact complete strangers took the time to fix a truck that hadn’t run in months was amazing to these men.
Tyler Robinson and Ron Switzer taking a look at one of the tanker trucks that will be used during training. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
While work was being done on the tanker, three other firefighters were working on the medical bag, divvying up what would be needed to train for the week and what would be left behind at the fire station for their paramedics.
Irene Dickson and Ali Gratton sort medical supplies for training and for donation to the paramedics and firefighters in Padres Las Casas. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
The firefighters also met up with a couple of locals later in the day who would be working with them all week as translators, helping make sure the basic training would be understood.
There are no promises that everything will go according to plan, but as is anything related to the fire department, they will adapt.
The first day of training is sure to bring some surprises and some challenges, but that is what they signed up for.
