It was a long, strange trip for Victor Fernandez, and he isn’t just referring to the flight to Toronto and back last weekend.
The St. Albert firefighter and humanitarian was one of 10 finalists for the CBC contest called Champions of Change. He didn’t take home one of two top prizes of $25,000 for his charity, Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad (CAFSA), but he did win $10,000. Sort of.
He has no idea when the cheque will arrive.
“They don’t even tell us the final votes. Classified information,” he laughed.
When the money does come, he hopes to use it to acquire much needed warehouse space for all of the firefighting equipment that he will be sending on his next mission in September. He will be going to Iloca, Chile, a community that was heavily damaged by a tsunami after a powerful earthquake last year.
Also, there’s the small matter of a very large vehicle from Thorhild – another decommissioned fire truck that was donated to his cause. It needs a big parking space.
“I have to find a place to put it.”
If he were to look at this whole experience from a very superficial level, it was a huge benefit. But he found that it was just a huge distraction from his routine workweek.
“It was a pain instead of a plus,” he admitted. He said that when he goes on his 10-day missions, he comes back feeling 20 years younger.
“This contest this weekend – only three days – I came back 20 years older. That says it all.”
The otherwise youthful and energetic 54-year-old regularly works full-time at the fire station and then puts in another 40 hours tending to the charity’s affairs.
“I’m not about money,” he emphasized, remarking that it was more valuable to him to have so much media coverage. “Because of [that] a lot of people know me, a lot of people have donated, a lot of people are aware of our foundation. That has no price.”
He thanked everybody who supported him and voted for him and also those who just took the time to learn more about CAFSA.
“That’s the best part. That’s the only part.”
He has been running CAFSA since 2000, going on missions once every several months to communities in Central and South America and the Caribbean. It relies on volunteer support and donations of functional firefighting equipment and gear. Last year the Town of Morinville donated a Ford Superior Fire Pump truck.
To learn more about the charity or to offer your services, please visit www.cafsa.net.
