A group of Central Coast firefighters is back from Mexico after a trip during the first week of February.
The men are celebrating 20 years of volunteer work training a fire department in Mexico.
“When we first went to Mexico 20 years ago, they didn't have trucks like this,” said retired CAL FIRE SLO Captain Mark Cameron, pointing to a firetruck filled with rescue equipment. “It's literally a rolling toolbox.”
A toolbox his counterparts in Obregon, Mexico did not always have.
“When we got down there, it's like holy smokes man, we take a lot of stuff granted in the United States,” Cameron said.
Cameron said the firefighters in Obregon lacked a number of life-saving tools and advanced rescue training, leading to deaths on the job.