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Fernandez sends another fire truck on its way

You could say that it rose from the ashes, just like the mythological phoenix. The Morinville Fire Department made a huge donation to St. Albert based charity Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad (CAFSA) and it did so with sirens blaring.
Morinville firefighter Shawn Bissonnette gets ready to drive and load a donated fire truck onto the back of a semi-trailer. The fire truck is being driven to Vancouver by
Morinville firefighter Shawn Bissonnette gets ready to drive and load a donated fire truck onto the back of a semi-trailer. The fire truck is being driven to Vancouver by truck driver John Tymchuck of Ashton Transport. It will then be taken to Guatemala as part of St. Albert firefighter Victor Fernandez’ charity Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad

You could say that it rose from the ashes, just like the mythological phoenix. The Morinville Fire Department made a huge donation to St. Albert based charity Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad (CAFSA) and it did so with sirens blaring.

The decommissioned 1978 Ford Superior fire truck was formally transferred to the not-for-profit organization last Wednesday during a ramping up ceremony at Agritrac Equipment in the town’s south industrial park. It was loaded up on a flatbed truck and driven out to Vancouver. Tomorrow, it sets sail for Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala where it will be put back into service in Malacatán, a city that could really use every bit of help it can get.

“We’re pretty happy,” explained Victor Fernandez, CAFSA’s executive director. “The guys in Guatemala … they can’t wait.”

As far as he is concerned, the mission is already a grand success. What sometimes takes months or years of planning is now in the home stretch. For his part, he’s very grateful for the generosity of the local fire station. It wasn’t unexpected though.

“Firefighters are happy to help and they’re happy to help in other fire departments.”

Shawn Bissonnette is one of the Morinville crew and a volunteer with CAFSA as well. He was the one who drove the truck for the last time on Canadian soil and it made him proud to be part of such an extended outreach aid effort.

“It feels great. It lets us know at least someone can benefit from it … firefighters that are going into buildings with sneakers and buckets. At least they’ll have some decent equipment to use and allow them to do their job better and safer.”

That equipment includes salvaged and restored breathing apparatuses, boots and sets of personal protective equipment like helmets and suits.

Fernandez couldn’t give an accurate estimate on what the gift was worth and joked that the tires might be the only things with a resale value.

“Here in Canada, it’s worth probably $4,000. Over there, it has no price. The beauty about all that is that there’s no electronics like the new ones. They can fix it if anything goes wrong.”

In September, a team from CAFSA will travel down to the Central American country to train the firefighters there in the proper use of the truck and all of the equipment.

CAFSA’s next objective is to service another recently donated decommissioned fire truck from Leduc County Fire Services. It will be delivered to Bolivia sometime in November.

To learn more about the organization and its activities, or to get involved, visit www.cafsa.net.


Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ecology and Environment Reporter at the Fitzhugh Newspaper since July 2022 under Local Journalism Initiative funding provided by News Media Canada.
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