At Your Service: CAFSA now accepting masks

Spare a mask, brother? Victor Fernández is asking that question of fire departments everywhere as he looks for PPE to clean, refurbish, and donate to firefighters who have to do without throughout Central and South America.

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Any fire station out there with out of service respiratory equipment should expect a friendly call from Victor Fernández. The retired St. Albert firefighter hopes to acquire donated masks in order for him to clean and refurbish them to be donated to Central and South American fire departments who must go without. Currently, many such first responders have to share one mask for every ten of them. Fernández already has 80 masks ready to be shipped to Chile.VICTOR FERNÁNDEZ/Photo

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Once a lifesaver, always a lifesaver. That must be Victor Fernández's motto.

The ex-St. Albert firefighter, volunteer citizen of the year and head of Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad is coming out of retirement ... again. CAFSA is well-known as the organization that takes functional but outdated firefighting equipment – even trucks – and services them to be put back to use. It has been mostly quiet for the last few years, but a pandemic has a way of bringing people back into action.

"I think this is really fitting with what is happening around the world," he explained, referring to his new mask initiative. "It's not an opportunity. It was something to do, and do it right. I had the opportunity, the skills, and the material to do something about it."

Respiratory protection is the number one priority especially for front line workers including firefighters, he noted. The Chilean-born humanitarian and philanthropist explained such a priority lies in stark contrast with the fact that many Central and South American firefighters do not have their own personal mask as part of their personal protective equipment. They share one mask per 10 firefighters, he noted.

"They're suffering quite a bit with this COVID-19. It's to the point that sometimes they have to shut down two or three fire stations, because they're infected."

With that, CAFSA has begun asking fire departments and anyone with 3M Scott Masks (AV 2000, AV 3000, and AV 3000HT) to get in touch with him to consider donating them. He already has 80 masks that will soon be on their way to a fire department in need, and it's a station that holds a special place in his heart: Station 18 with the fire department in Santiago, Chile.

"That's my old station," he offered. "I never forgot my beginnings. I'm very humbled for that. I started with them, and I promised to help them as much as I can for the rest of my life. Here's another opportunity. I never forget about them."

If you can help or if you know of a fire department that can, please contact Fernández by phone at 780-913-4788 or via email at [email protected].

Kettles come up close to brimming

The St. Albert Salvation Army closed up its 2020 Christmas Kettle campaign with a total collection of $320,625 which was approximately 80 per cent of its goal of $400,000.

The funding will be used toward the church's year-long community support efforts. You can still offer a donation through its office via credit card payments. The church is located at 165 Liberton Dr. An online donation link has also been set up for those that want to donate but are not able to get out: bit.ly/3kV4pCG.