An area fire department is giving Central American countries a fighting chance by donating its used equipment.
Boiling Springs Fire and Rescue recently donated turnout gear to fire department in Nicaragua and Guatemala to help their fellow public servants abroad. Turnout gear, gloves and a thermal imagining camera were sent down with the help of Fireman’s Faith Ministry, said Capt. Blake Wilkey.
“The stuff down there is in bad shape. Our stuff is brand new to them,” Wilkey said.
Wilkey went on a trip to the area last year to get a first-hand look at what those departments are working with. The safety equipment most Americans associate with firefighters here is not what is standard down there. When firefighters in those countries go out they have flack pants and then their civilian clothes, he said.
“They don’t have enough jackets or helmets. There are holes in the hoses too. This brings new life to them,” he said.