By Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

Sixth Annual Los Amigos Trip to Deliver Emergency Services to Mexico

Apr 12, 2016 | 4:19 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Los Amigos is ready to make its sixth annual trip to deliver emergency vehicles, supplies and training in Mexico, in coordination with the Rotary Club of Lethbridge.

Eight decommissioned vehicles, including two firetrucks, two ambulances and four handibuses (pictured above), will depart for Mazatlan, Mexico. A team of 16 drivers, five trainers and four ambassadors will leave on April 21.

“There are certain time and mileage limits that the communities use here to gauge whether they’re going to keep those vehicles, and then they have a replacement process and they decommission them, which takes them out of active service. These vehicles are in good condition, and they’re going to continue to serve communities somewhere in the world.” Jim Campbell, Project Coordinator, noted.

Five volunteers working on the Rotary Vocational Training part of the project will meet the others in Mazatlan on the 27th.

They are Chris Tomaras and Chris Carney from the Lethbridge Fire Department, Lynn Brasnett, an EMT from Pincher Creek, Danielle Tkachenko, a registered nurse also from Lethbridge and Wayne Stewart, the program’s manager.

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Stewart explains that they’ll be providing intense training classes to first responders in the area. “The theme of this year’s project is ‘Train the Trainers’. We have a select group of 30 senior firefighters and paramedics coming to Mazatlan from four to five surrounding communities, where they will receive training. We know they’ll go back to their communities and train their fellow staff.”

Campbell added that communities go through a rigorous application process to determine if they can handle the operation and maintenance of the vehicles. If not, they are returned to the Rotary so they can be redistributed to another community.

It takes volunteers roughly 4,000 hours to prepare for this trip. The group will travel over 3,700 kilometers, and are expected to return to Canada on May 6.

by Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

Sixth Annual Los Amigos Trip to Deliver Emergency Services to Mexico

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