Peterson firefighter helps train, equip sister city fire department

Published Oct. 2, 2007
By Corey Dahl
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AFB, Colo. -- Tech. Sgt. Mario Gonzalez just got back from Mexico, but he wasn't there to enjoy sparkling beaches, spicy food and cheap souvenirs.

Instead, on Sept. 12, Sergeant Gonzalez, a member of Peterson's Fire Department, journeyed to Nuevo Casas Grandes, Colorado Springs' sister city in northern Mexico, as part of a contingent of Colorado Springs firefighters, educators and Rotary Club members. While there, the firefighters spent most of their time at the city's only fire station, conducting training for the overstretched and under-equipped local fire department.

"It's one of those towns where the rich are rich and the poor are poor," Sergeant Gonzalez said. "The department doesn't have a lot of resources. You could say we're spoiled here, compared to them."

And that would still be an understatement. The fire department in Nuevo Casas Grandes has just 15 firefighters, two of whom are volunteers, serving a town of about 54,000. They have three fire engines and only four people on duty at a time, handling crises that range from fighting actual fires to acting as animal control.

Most of the department's members have received minimal training in firefighting, attending just basic classes in nearby Ciudad Juarez before joining up.

But, bearing gifts of used equipment and uniforms, Sergeant Gonzalez and his fellow firefighters did their best - in just three days' time - to help improve the fire department's situation. The men trained their fellow firefighters on fire behavior, victim extraction and rescue techniques. They also demonstrated how to use some of the equipment they donated, such as harnesses for rappelling down steep areas.

All the work left little time for sightseeing, but, Sergeant Gonzalez said, none of the visiting firefighters seemed to mind.

"There were a lot of tourist things we were invited to do while we were there, but none of us went," Sergeant Gonzalez said. "We said, 'We came here to train,' and that's what we did."

They also ended up building lifelong friendships. On the Colorado Springs group's last day, the Nuevo Casas Grandes firefighters gave the visiting men their badges as a symbol of thanks. They also invited the visiting firefighters back anytime, offering their homes as places to stay and eat if the men ever do. Sergeant Gonzalez said it's an offer he'd certainly like to take them up on someday.

"They say being a firefighter is like being in a brotherhood, and there, it was true. They opened their houses to us, drove us places when we needed them to, everything," he said. "We definitely connected."

Airman lends hand to firefighters