Former St. Albert firefighter Victor Fernandez is celebrating Fire Prevention Week in the best way that he knows how: by overseeing another round of donations of quality second-hand firefighting equipment to a community in Paraguay that desperately needs it.
“This is what one guy can do,” he said, standing amid rows upon rows of boots, helmets, jackets and pants, hoses, medical equipment, and other items necessary to being a modern firefighter. He is spending the next few weeks packing up the warehouse-worth of gear into a sea container headed for AsunciĂłn, Paraguay.
It’s all just another day on the job as the one-man driving force behind Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad, or CAFSA. Since 2000, the not-for-profit organization has procured, refurbished (if necessary) and delivered quality second-hand firefighting gear to locations around the world that are in desperate need of it but can’t afford to buy new items.
According to Fernandez, the current collection is worth more than $200,000 and more is soon to be added to it, courtesy of Vegreville Fire Services. Recently, Wood Buffalo Fire Services offered up its own batch of donations to the cause, with more pledged to come in the near future.
Greg Colombe, the procurement officer for the Fort McMurray Regional Fire Department, said that a charity like CAFSA just makes good solid sense.
“We’re glad to see someone use it who actually is in need of it, instead of just us tossing it into the garbage, just going to waste,” he said. “If someone’s going to get good use out of it, that’s what we like to see.”
The warehouse facility is a sea of boots, helmets, jackets, gloves, fire hoses, medical equipment and other gear and clothing. Most of it is previously used but some of the items are still in the plastic. “Brand new,” Fernandez said.
He anticipates spending most of this month packing it all up and sending it off early in November. The shipment follows hot on the heels of his recent delivery of three fire trucks, one to El Salvador and two to the Philippines. They were originally intended for Bolivia but the law prevents the use of such vehicles over 20 years old in the country, he said. Fernandez tried working with the Bolivian government to change the rules but that process seems to have stalled.
“No one is going to give you a 10- or a 15-year-old fire truck because they’re still operating and they’re expensive. Even though they’re 20 years old, they still have value. They’re well-maintained because they have be top notch all the time, ready to go.”
The truck that has the most mileage on it still has fewer than 40,000 kilometres on the odometer, he stated.
“The firefighters in Bolivia … they are waiting for this [shipment] to arrive in Paraguay,” he indicated. “The Paraguayans are going to invite them and invite their bosses. They’re going to say, ‘CAFSA is for real! This is happening.’”
Last year, he sent an ambulance to the Watoto Foundation in South Africa. He recently heard that it might become used in Sierra Leone to help with the Ebola outbreak.
Since 2000, the total value of all of the donations that he has shipped off to countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia now verges on the $3 million mark.
While he does most of the organization and manual labour himself, he paid special thanks to Joe Cain and St. Albert United Rentals as well as Rick Boutette of Rick’s Auto Service. He said that help from the public is always appreciated.
People can learn more about the organization and its work at www.cafsa.net.
