Maritime fire departments send gear to the Dominican
The Charlottetown Fire Department has joined forces with organizations throughout the Maritimes to send used fire equipment and gear to an impoverished area in the Dominican Republic.
The plan is to send decommissioned equipment to a small community outside of Santiago, which doesn't have the means to fight fires.
"I guess we take a lot for granted here. There's a lot of departments that aren't as fortunate as we are. It's sort of nice to be able to help out," said Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald.
The Charlottetown department will donate about 40 pairs of fire-resistant pants and jackets, 12 helmets, 10 pairs of boots, a portable water pump and about 150 metres of fire hose to Hato Del Yaque — a city of about 25,000.
The Charlottetown airport also donated some fire gear.
Organizer, RCMP Sgt. Brad Chugg visited the area where a fire often means disaster.
"That community has actually no fire department, no educational facilities, nor hospital facilities. Very, very impoverished. So when I came back to Canada I started making some inquiries and I partnered with some fire departments and found that we could probably fill a 25-foot container loaded with all kinds of great fire gear that they'd be able to use," said Chugg.
The Charlottetown gear will be combined with donated equipment from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia before being shipped to the Dominican Republic through a local non-profit ministry.
