From modest beginnings, the Lakeside Assistance Group is now collaborating at full steam with Canada’s Firefighters Without Borders to ship second-hand equipment and supplies to fire departments and emergency medical facilities throughout Jalisco.
Firefighters Without Borders collects used – but still useful – firefighting and medical equipment, uniforms, safety gear, tools and other inventory and donates it to poorly equipped first responders abroad. The items have usually passed their legal expiration dates and are earmarked for disposal. Sending the equipment to foreign countries avoids it rotting away in landfills.
Mexico is currently a focus destination for such efforts, according to Vancouver area Firefighters Without Borders reps Randy Dubbert and Glenn Paley, who visited Chapala last week for a needs-assessment mission.
The first big load of provisions arrived in March, with the Canadian group coordinating logistics from the source and Lakeside Assistance handling Mexican government red tape and distribution. The goods were split among firefighters, civil protection officers and paramedics in Chapala and 15 other municipalities.
Based on that successful and seamless endeavor, the Canadians are nearly ready to send off a 20-foot shipping container, loaded to the hilt and waiting in Vancouver. Once it gets here, the goods will be shared among around 30 communities. And the container will be kept here as a storage unit.
Dubbert and Paley are also making plans to return next April with a team of firefighters to run a specialized training course for their Mexican colleagues.
Lakeside Assistance Group President John Kelly shares their optimism on keeping the cross-border cooperative project rolling on a permanent basis. To do so, however, the local group needs to secure funding for shipment costs that he estimates will run to around $US10,000 a year.
In addition to organizing benefit events, Kelly hopes to elicit sponsorships from private parties and businesses. Interested persons are encouraged to contact him at 766-5834, 331-758-0676 (cell) or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
All local contributions to the Firefighters Without Borders program in Jalisco are channeled directly and solely through the Lakeside Assistance Group.