A New Life for Old Firefighting Gear

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Town of Sterling
Fire Department
5 Main Street – P.O. Box 21
Sterling, Massachusetts 01564-0021
Website: www.sterlingfd.net
Email: dhurlbut@sterling-ma.gov
David C. Hurlbut, Jr.
Chief of Department
TEL (978) 422-3040
FAX (978) 422-7832

The Sterling Fire Department – working in conjunction with AMEDICAusa – recently donated our outdated and retired firefighting and EMS gear to firefighters in Guatemala. Firefighter / Paramedic Jim Emerton took the lead on this project and has been working closely with representatives from AMEDICAusa to determine their needs.
The equipment – including 35 sets of firefighter turnout gear, helmets, AEDs, battery backup units, and water valves will be delivered to Guatemala by AMEDICAusa.
Sterling Fire recently upgraded aging firefighter turnout gear for all Sterling Firefighters. While this outdated gear no longer meets the NFPA standards in the US, the equipment still has a use in other countries.
“Rather than toss this gear in a
dumpster, we found a way to give
it a new life for firefighters to use in Guatemala” said Sterling Fire Chief David Hurlbut, Jr.
AMEDICAusa (which stands for Aid for Medicine, Education, and Disasters In Central America) is a U.S. based charity that has been working to help alleviate the problems faced by firefighters in Guatemala. The charity’s hallmark is providing donated firefighting and rescue equipment, as well as training the fire and rescue services in Central America.
AMEDICAusa President Neale Brown – a retired Fire Captain and Paramedic – explained how Guatemalan firefighters face huge challenges every day just doing
their job. They are chronically underfunded, poorly paid and largely unequipped. Never the less, they answer the call for fires, emergency medical services, accidents and frequent natural disasters.
AMEDICAusa doesn’t just drop off the donated equipment to its new home, but each agency who receives equipment also gets the training needed to operate it safely and effectively. AMEDICAusa instructors go to the receiving agencies home to offer hands-on instruction and drills that assure it will be used to good effect. AMEDICAusa and its partners also provide an annual Fire /Rescue / EMS academy in Guatemala City to assist the responders.
And this isn’t the last you will see of this gear. Once the equipment is delivered by AMEDICAusa, they will provide Sterling Fire with pictures of the donated gear in use at its new station.

For further information, contact:
Neale Brown, President,
AMEDICAusa,
1-240-FIREMEN (347-3636) or
neale.brown@amedicausa.org
Jim Emerton, PIO, Town of Sterling
Fire Dept., 978-422-6633 or
jemerton@sterling-ma.gov