CAFSA goes to new heights

CAFSA goes to new heights
by GLENN COOK
Saint City News
Victor Fernandez has taken
his charitable work to new
heights — literally.
Fernandez, president of
Canadian Aid for Fire Services
Abroad (CAFSA) and a
member of the St. Albert Fire
Department, recently returned
from the latest CAFSA mission
to take firefighting equipment
and supplies to the city of
Azogues, Ecuador. The
mission required Fernandez
and fellow St. Albert firefighter
Lyall Hutchinson to make
some adjustments, as Azogues
is situated 2,698 metres above
sea level, more than four times
the elevation of St. Albert.
“The trip from upstairs to
downstairs, we would have
been out of breath,” Fernandez
said.
“I almost blacked out,” he
added. “We couldn’t figure
out what it was. Then we said,
‘It’s the elevation.’”
But even though the air was
thin and cold, the reception
was warm, just as it has been
for other CAFSA missions to
places like Guatemala, Chile
and Colombia.
Fernandez and Hutchinson
were both given keys to the city
of Azogues, as well as “Cross
of Fire” medals, the first time
they had been given to people
from outside Ecuador.
“They wanted to show
that we were welcome, and
they were very appreciative,”
Fernandez said.
Fernandez even got up
and spoke in front of the
congregation at a local church,
where they found out just how
small the world can be when
they met the priest.
“This guy comes walking up
and said, ‘Why are you from
my country?’” Hutchinson
said, referring to the Canadian
flag on their shirts. “He’s from
Winnipeg. I was just trying to
think how long he had been
there; forever, probably.”
That wasn’t the only thing
they found in common
between the two countries, as
they said that Azogues is very
similar to St. Albert.
“It’s a little bit bigger [in
population], but more spread
out — disorganized and
spread out,” Fernandez said.
“There were some streets that
were [very narrow].”
“That’s a major problem,”
Hutchinson added. “Some
parts have hydrants, but some
of the hydrants don’t work.”
Another big problem
was a lack of personal safety
equipment for the firefighters
to use.
“They had three sets of
firefighter gloves that they
shared among the whole
department,” Hutchinson
said. “Everyone else was using
leather work gloves. They have
some equipment, not a lot of
stuff, and not the basic personal
protective equipment.”
And the equipment they
did have was often hampered
by superstitions or “old wives’
tales” that may have been
doing more harm than good.
“They were told by someone
that, if you don’t wash your
protective gear, it builds a film
or something that protects
you,” Hutchinson said. “No,
you want to get that off, because
all it does is build up creosote
and it’s more dangerous.”
Most of the equipment for
the Ecuadorian firefighters,
worth more than $500,000, was
sent on a shipping container
that should arrive in the city
sometime this week, but
Fernandez and Hutchinson
did take an automated external
defibrillator and trained the
paramedics and a couple of
local doctors on how to use it.
While the CAFSA missions
help the firefighters in other
countries, Fernandez said they
are also a great way to build up
Canada overseas.
“The flag was waving
everywhere,” he said. “The little
flags, the pins, everyone asked
me three or four times — one
for the wife, one for the kids.
And they were wearing them
very proudly. It’s unbelievable
what a small plastic flag will do
for you overseas.”
The City of St. Albert has
also donated a fire truck with
an aerial apparatus that is
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CAFSA’s Victor Fernandez speaks
at a church in Azogues, Ecuador.
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that city has raised enough
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As for future missions,
Fernandez said there is no
shortage of fire departments
looking for aid, but right now,
they are looking at helping
firefighters in Afghanistan.
“We were talking to
the army, and there is the
possibility of helping the fire
departments of Kabul and
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