HELP FOR FAMILIES OF FIREFIGHTERS WHO DIED.

T.J. · Jan 27, 2007

There was a big fire at Plaza las Americas after midnight on Wed. 2 firemen were killed. The entire mall has been closed since. It apparently started in the sporting goods store near Sears and spread fast. That Is almost across the walkway from a fire about a year ago that destroyed 4 stores.

Friday they had the funerals and a long funeral procession. You could hear the sirens for 15-20 minutes. Around noon there were hundreds of people outside the fire station on Tulum and Chichen Itza paying respects.

My buddy here is a retired fireman and we are going to go see what we can do to help the families. We plan on going on Monday.

I don't know how to go about this but if anyone would like to make a donation please contact me by email. I will provide my Florida address and can promise that 100% of any contribution will go directly to the families. If you are in Cancun I can arrange for your donation to be picked up.

Thanks,

RiverGirl · Jan 29, 2007

I do not want to dilute the effectiveness of TJ's wonderful efforts here. But in addition to the need to support the families of the fallen firemen there is also a need to help the rest of the firemen by insuring that they have the equipment that they need.

Below is a letter I received this morning about the present situation with Cancun's firemen.

Cancun's Fire-Fighting Equipment is 15 Years Old

The Fire Department's equipment for saving lives is not in proper
condition. Although there are 132 firemen working in Cancun, there are
only 40 oxygen tanks that have to be shared. These tanks determine
how long workers can breathe and thus remain within a building that is
on fire.

This equipment was donated, and proper testing was not performed on it
to determine how many work-years are left in it. In spite of this,
the heroic firemen of Benito Juarez go to work with what they have,
not allowing fire to go unattended.

To equip a fireman costs about 23,000 pesos, and the equipment's life
depends on the use it's given. Every fireman should wear a
flame-resistant helmet, balaclava, vest, suspenders, trousers, boots
and gloves made with Nomex, a fire retardant that when put into direct
fire, slowly carbonizes instead of bursting into flame.

Besides the suit, autonomous breathing equipment is absolutely
necessary, as, without it, it is dangerous and even sometimes
impossible to access the location where the fire is most concentrated.
The tanks that they have now were donated from Canada. They have a
capacity of three thousand pounds. Since they were previously used,
hydrostatic tests should be performed on them to make sure they are in
proper working order. However, the hydrostatic tests have not been
performed because they are too expensive. So, instead of filling the
tanks to their full capacity (3,000 lbs. or 35 minutes-worth of
oxygen), they fill them with 2,000 lbs, significantly reducing their
possibilities of remaining within a fire site for a longer period of
time.

Miguel Armenta Zamudio is the firefighter coordinator. He says that
an equipment alarm is supposed to go off when there are 5 minutes of
air remaining. However, since the equipment is used, the alarm goes
off indiscriminately, requiring firefighters to leave the fire right
away.

In the recent fire that took place in Plaza Las Americas, a
firefighter died of asphyxiation, acute pulmonary edema and burns to
several areas of his torso. In that fire, precisely, all 40 tanks
were used, and there were more firefighters than tanks. Firefighters
comment that they work with equipment that is between 10 to 15 years
old (in the USA there is a maximum 2-year use on equipment).

With respect to the unfortunate incident and the lack of firefighting
equipment, Mayor Francisco Alor Quezada said that 15 million pesos has
been held up by the Federation because firefighters had not been
identified in the municipality as part of Public Safety.

Miguel Armenta says that all other institutions are funded before the
Fire Department. He believes that for the national government,
firefighters´ work is at the "bottom of the list."
Click to expand...

T.J. · Jan 29, 2007

Need of firefighters

After an email back and forth with jen, and she may have discussed with you, Rivergirl, as it was on this point, I talked with Eddie about it.

He told me he was going to make a point of contacting his colleagues back in South Florida, and seeing if he can arrange for used equipment for our guys here.

I think we are all on the same page here and I am happy that this tragedy has us working toward common goals.

I have had several emails and phone calls telling me that donations are available, being mailed etc. I am actually meeting one guy at La Taberna during the Super Bowl for a significant contribution.

Another person is thinking of doing something with his business participating in some way. The ball is now rolling and let's hope it picks up speed and we get some much needed financial help from as many
Cancun lovers as possible.

I did a project like this after 9/11/2001 that was easier in comparison to this as I had a mechanism in place, a staff, and a common thread to who we were trying to help in the NYC area. It was wildly successful but has to work almost like a chain letter in some respects.

By that I mean if you think this is worthwhile, contact a few friends who just might help you out as a way to feel good about helping a fatherless family who is poorer than dirt.

Thanks to all and to Steve for letting this board help the community in this special time of need a couple of families who lost a hero.

Log in or Sign up

HELP FOR FAMILIES OF FIREFIGHTERS WHO DIED.

T.J. I can choose my own title Registered Member

RiverGirl Guest

T.J. I can choose my own title Registered Member