Fire departments south of Tucson and even south of the border headed to Rio Rico Wednesday night for cross-border fire training with propane.
It's an exercise that happens once a year.
"The infrastructure down here for natural gas isn't there," Santa Cruz County Emergency Planner Frank Granados said. "A lot of the homes and businesses in Rio Rico, Tubac and Nogales area rely on propane for heating. It's one of the areas we need to deal with. We need to be prepared for propane emergencies."
Granados, a retired Tucson firefighter and senior adviser with Rio Rico Fire District, leads the training.
Firefighters from Guymas, Sonora drove north six hours to learn in this environment.
"They don't have a budget, the majority of these firefighters are volunteers, they do it for the passion of being a firefighter and to save lives and property without pay," Granados said.