By Casey Harrison
Las Vegas Review-Journal
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — One of the North Las Vegas Fire Department’s oldest fire trucks is getting a new chance to save lives.
City officials on Tuesday handed over the keys to a retired 65-foot 1999 Pierce Quantum telesquirt fire truck and other tools to the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department in Mexico as part of a partnership aimed at bolstering professional development and firefighting resources among firefighting organizations in Mexico and Latin American countries.
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The Cabo San Lucas department consists of about 60 volunteers and three fire stations, according to Chief Juan Carbajal, who thanked North Las Vegas leaders and said he plans to begin utilizing the truck right away.
“We are really, really thankful to the people of North Las Vegas, the mayor, the fire chief, all the councilmen and council-ladies that made this donation possible,” Carbajal said. “We’re going to put that fire truck in the main station in the case it is needed and we have to move it around.”
North Las Vegas Fire Chief Joseph Calhoun said the truck was retired a few years ago in accordance with standards published by the National Fire Protection Association and had largely been used for training purposes in recent years. The association’s handbook states frontline engines like the one donated Tuesday have a useful lifespan of about 10-15 years, after which they can be kept in reserve fleets, but should be removed from service after 25 years.
“Our garage went through, did great maintenance on it,” Calhoun said. “Changed the oil, put a fresh tank of fuel in it, and it’s ready to go.”
The department is also donating about two dozen thermal cameras that Calhoun said could help see through smoke or identify hot spots.
“Everything we’re giving them is still useful,” Calhoun said. “I would still feel confident having our folks use this equipment today again, but it’s just reached some of its lifespan based on our national standards.”
Bomberos Latinos
The Cabo San Lucas and North Las Vegas fire departments were connected through Bomberos Latinos, an organization that connects needy fire departments south of the U.S. border with departments here needing to offload equipment. The group was started by Joseph Troncoso, a former Portland, Oregon, firefighter who in 1999 came up with the idea after visiting the Mexican city of Guadalajara .
While on that trip, Troncoso said he quickly learned that best firefighting practices there and in other parts of the world differ due to factors like different architectural styles and commonly used building materials.
Facilitating donations is just one part of the job because recipients also need training to use and maintain equipment, Troncoso said, adding it’s more nuanced than simply translating training manuals from English to Spanish.
“Initially, we started providing training and donating equipment because the two things are hand in hand,” Troncoso said. “Equipment without training is of no use.”
Bomberos Latinos has provided more than 577 training courses in 15 countries to more than 23,000 students, Troncoso said. The group has about 200 requests for equipment from fire departments in Colombia, Ecuador and elsewhere, according to Troncoso.
‘Same set of values’
In the case of the fire truck soon heading to Cabo San Lucas, Carbajal said the truck needs to be driven more than 300 miles south to the Mexican border and that a roughly $5,000 import fee must be paid to get the truck into the country. From there, the engine will be loaded onto a flatbed truck to avoid further wear-and-tear and be transported the rest of the way to the popular resort town’s main fire station.
“It’s the only way to get it in,” Carbajal said, noting the fee is a small price to pay relative to what his department is receiving in return. “If we can use a truck for three, four, six years, it’s good.”
For Calhoun, he’s grateful to have forged a new relationship with a fire department he believes will put the truck and other donated equipment to good use.
“We have the same set of values,” Calhoun said. “We’re here to take care of our community, they’re here to take care of their community, and now, we’re joined for life to help be a part of taking care of their community as well.”
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