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EDINBURG — Hector Garza, director of firefighters for the city of Abasolo, Nuevo León, smiled tenderly Wednesday as he opened the doors to the municipality’s newest fire truck.
He has an act of generosity to thank for the truck, which was desperately needed.
The Edinburg Fire Department donated fire equipment to two sister cities in Mexico — Abasolo, Nuevo León and Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas — in hopes of helping them be better equipped in emergency situations.
For Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza, the donation of fire equipment is an act of kindness and solidarity that celebrates communities supporting one and another.
“With this much needed equipment firefighters in Valle Hermoso and Abasolo will not only be better equipped to handle emergencies and to protect their own communities, but they’ll also have the capacity to train and collaborate across the board, strengthening our collective ability to respond to crises,” Ramiro Garza said.
For Hector Garza, the donations from the Edinburg Fire Department will allow their firefighters to respond to emergency situations more effectively.
“It’s a relief for the town because we don’t have equipment over that and now thanks to Edinburg we’ll have something to help the people,” Hector Garza said.
According to Hector Garza, in Nuevo León there is about a 100% need for assistance due to a lack of resources. In fact, he explained that their team is made up of about nine members that include the fire department and emergency medical services in Abasolo.
“The municipality doesn’t have the money to buy equipment,” Hector Garza said.
Hector Garza explained that the equipment was much needed due to the accidents that often occur on the freeway stretching from Monclova, Coahuila to Escobedo, Nuevo León.
“We have about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) of federal highway with many trailers,” Hector Garza said. “There are many accidents because of the trailers.”
Omar Garza, the Edinburg fire chief, explained that the need was identified about two years ago when the two cities in Mexico reached out to the department asking if they had any equipment they were no longer using.
“Chief Snider, our previous chief, had already started working out the negotiations with them so here what I did today was I kind of just finished off what he had started,” Omar Garza said.
The fire department donated a 2003 Pierce Engine to Valle Hermoso and a 1989 GMC Rescue Truck to Nuevo León. Both cities also received Scott face masks and air packs, bunker coats and pants, gloves, helmets, boots, and Nomex hoods and Scott 4500 PSI Cylinders.
Omar Garza explained that if the equipment and fire trucks had not been donated to the cities in Mexico they would have most likely gone to an auction.
He was relieved that the department was given the opportunity to help out a neighboring community.
“It’s a real honor for us to donate these trucks to Mexico, after hearing those stories of the stuff they have in Mexico, this might be old to us but to them they’re so grateful to have this equipment,” Omar Garza said.
