30 yr. old engine headed to Ecuador

[NJFFSA16]

Mahopac and West Nyack send fire truck to Ecuador


(Mahopac, New York-AP) -- A 30-year-old fire truck from West
Nyack is being sent to Ecuador - via Putnam County. The Lake
Mahopac Rotary has been looking for used fire fighting equipment
for Ecuador since New York City Fire Captain Dan Sheridan visited
the South American country last year. Sheridan - who lives in
Mahopac - asked the local rotary to help find fire fighting
equipment.
The West Nyack Fire department in Rockland county was giving up
it's 30 year old bucket truck. So the Mahopac Rotary bought it for
12-hundred dollars and refurbished it.
The truck was being sent later this month to the fire department
in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Sheridan says the Hillcrest Fire Department - also in Rockland -
donated an old fire truck to another community in Ecuador last
year.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[codeblue81]

Okay, now this is a really good storya nd I'm glad that the Lake
Mahopac Rotary has decided to help a struggling dept. However, the one thing that does tick me off about stories like this is how US depts have the same problem of not having adequate equipment. We have our own brothers and sisters out fighting fires with little more than a brush truck and mix-matched sets of turnout gear. Personally and I might sound a little narrow-minded for saying it but I believe we should help our neighboring depts in the US before we decide to send good, capable equipment out of the country.

Thanks for letting me vent.

code_blue81

[FiRsqDvr45]

I am with you CodeBlue. Man, It is like those Sally Struther commercials asking for money to feed the people in other countries when we have starving in our country. It is extremely noble to help others including those abroad but as the old proverb says, "Charity begins at home!"

[ttjjss]

I will agree on one point, A needy Fire Dept is a needy fire dept, No matter where they are at BUT. Helping Our Own has close to 5,000 depts signed up for assistance here in our own country. I have 115 on my list here in Arkansas and I figure it will be between 400 and 500 when I get them all signed up.
One thing that gauls me is that the Air Force will fly a truck or any FF equipment free of charge/ space available to just about any other country. BUT they will not transport anything within the boundaries of the USA.
HOO research has shown that somewhere between 2 BILLION and 3 BILLION dollars worth of surplus and used Firefighting gear and equipment is shipped to other countries or Destroyed every year.
Research also shows that there are approximately 30,000 firefighters in the USA that dont even have BASIC protective gear and equipment.
There are hundreds of US depts that dont even have a pumper. Many use a brush truck or a tanker with a small portable pump as their main attack apparatus.
We are very lucky that we dont have more injuries and deaths because of this.
Yes I agree those depts in other countries need help, but we need to take care of our own first!
We had a nice 1964 tanker donated a few months ago by West Bloomfield ,NY and it went to Caddo Gap, ARK . They were as proud as if it were a million dollar truck. I handled a 1959 pumper donation in state here last year and the dept that got it only had a brush truck to fight fires with before that. Now they can actually try and do some offensive attacks instead of just going defensive and saving exposures.
I just hope everyone realizes that just because they may not know of depts needing help in their area, they should know that there are plenty of them all across our great country! Pass your surplus/old gear along guys. It WILL saves lives!!!!
Tyler