MUTUAL AID AMERICAS
Today traveling to Latin America is as common, and as easy, as traveling to Europe. But Many Central and South American regions lack the equipment and training needed to extinguish house warehouse, and especially, high rise hotel fires. More and more US citizens are retiring to places like Panama City, Panama and San Jose, Costa Rica. Economic globalization means rising numbers of businesses are staking cliam in these emerging markets. Without improved training and equipment, the lack of safety standards will become increasingly apparent through expensive tragedies. We need your partnership to make a difference.
Mutual Aid Americas is a humanitarian organization devoted to raising the effectiveness of fire departments in both Central and South America. By providing firefighters with advanced training and modernizing their equipment, Mutual Aid Americas helps improve safety, reduce injuries and loss of life to both the citizens and visitors of these nations, and ultimately, prevent personal and comercial property loss.
The Formation of Mutual Aid Americas:
A Spark of an Idea:
A chance encounter, led Captain Daniel Sheridan to establish Mutual Aid Americas.
Engine 58, Sheridan’s home in Harlem, played host to an Ecuadorian Fire Chief named Huerta in the fall of 2001. Before leaving New York, Chief Huerta invited Sheridan to visit his city of Guayaquil. Captain Sheridan welcomed the opportunity to travel abroad, and gain a fresh perspective, after the devastating losses he had recently experienced in 9/11.
Not a man to sit idle, Captain Sheridan agreed to visit Ecuador with the caveat that he would be allowed to provide training to the Guayaquil Fire Department. What he found was not what he expected. The firefighters there were lacking both the skill set, and the equipment, to fight fires effectively.
Captain Sheridan quickly recognized that a week of training was not enough. More had to be done to save lives and property. On his plane ride home, he had the vision for an organization and methodology. Mutual Aid Americas was born. That chance encounter in Engine 58 has led to the beginning of a paradigm shift in Latin American firefighting.
Years Since:
Since 2002, hundreds of hours of training have been provided; fire engines and ladder trucks have been delivered; scores of sets of bunker gear, air packs, tools, and hoses have been put in place.
The results are a testimony to the work that has been done. Today, the Guayaquil Fire Department is regularly recognized for the improvements it has undergone and is a model for departments throughout Latin America.
Our work with the Guayaquil Fire Department has provided the proof-of-concept needed to successfully offer similar training and equipment to other Central and South American municipalities.
In the next two years, we will continue to develop programs in Ecuador, Panama, Bolivia, and Peru. In addition, Mutual Aid Americas accepts grant requests for training and equipment on a continual basis.
Saving Lives:
Equipment & Training:
In some regions of Latin America, civilian deaths related to fire are not recorded due to the shockingly high numbers.
From Panama to Ecuador to Bolivia, fire departments are lacking in vital equipment and training. It is the goal of Mutual Aid Americas to deliver both, so fire departments can provide protection and support when emergencies arise. Modern equipment and training can save lives.
How it works:
It begins with equipment:
Every training program Mutual Aid Americas provides is two-tiered. Initially, Mutual Aid Americas accepts a grant request for vital equipment including protective suits, air packs*, nozzles, and even trucks. After confirming the legitimacy of the petition for aid, our team begins the process of fulfilling the need. Our equipment department packs, ships, and monitors the receipt of the gear.
Once the equipment is in place, training is scheduled.
It continues with training:
Mutual Aid Americas’ team of instructors is primarily comprised of officers, originating from various parts of the United States, all with more than 20 years experience on the job. We have spent hundreds of hours with Latin American fire departments to develop an effective training curriculum. Each class is designed to specifically address the limitations of the current infrastructure, immediate safety needs, and long-term training goals of the departments.
During in-depth training sessions, Mutual Aid Americas’ experts take the firefighters through every step of the process. Our training program combines intensive classroom sessions, in which
we stress the scientific and technical side of firefighting, combined with invaluable hands-on experience in simulated environments.
We aggressively work to retain fluent Spanish-speaking firefighters as part of every training mission, MAA makes every effort to maintain a five to one student-to-teacher ratio to further support onsite safety.
* Training is not mandatory to receive an equipment grant. As an exception, Mutual Aid Americas will not provide SCBA gear (self contained breathing apparatus) without training.
Please Help Us Fight Fires:
How you can lend a helping hand:
Supply much needed equipment:
Mutual Aid Americas is in desperate need of donated gear and equipment. We require items in every category — from helmets-and-boots to hoses-and-trucks. It should be noted that we are urgently requesting donations of bunker gear, boots, and gloves, in smaller sizes if available.
Why donated gear is so important:
Each of Mutual Aid Americas training missions begins with effectively equipping departments in need. In many cases, firefighters in Central and South America are attempting to operate with little, or no gear, and extremely out-of-date apparatus. In some municipalities, we have found departments that have ten to fifteen working firefighters for every three to five sets of gear available. This leaves many of our brothers and sisters in Latin America exposed to extreme danger and left with a limited ability to extinguish fires effectively.
Some of the items currently needed so we can help continue to save property and lives include:
Bunker Gear
Trucks
Air Packs
Boots
Helmets
Gloves
Protective Hoods
Axes and Hand Tools
Flashlights
Hose
Nozzles
Stretchers
To donate equipment, please contact us at donations@MutualAidAmericas.org
Financial contributions help assure safety:
In this modern age that we live in, traveling to Latin America is as common, and as easy, as traveling to Europe. But many Central and South American regions lack the equipment and training needed to extinguish house; warehouse; and especially, high-rise hotel fires. More and more US citizens are retiring to places like Panama City and San Jose. Economic globalization means rising numbers of businesses are staking claim in the emerging markets in Latin America. Sadly, without improved training and equipment, the lack of safety standards will become increasingly apparent through expensive tragedies. We need your partnership to make a difference.
We are in need of funds to continue our efforts.
Every dollar helps.
Make a donation and make a difference today. Click here to make a Donation!!!!!