FIRES & FIREFIGHTERS

MONTE PATRIA

After three days in the office, we hit the road for three ceremonies surrounding projects with fires and firefighters. On Thursday we drove six and a half hours northeast, close to the Argentina border to the small community of Los Laureles. On November 2, 2022, a fire broke out in Los Laurels, Rio Tapel in the Monte Patria commune where 26 families lost their homes. The fire started when a strong wind snapped high-tension wires causing sparks that started a flash fire that swept down the narrow canyon at 3:00am. It is a miracle that no one perished in the fire. All the families escaped in their pajamas.

The municipality has coordinated efforts for basic needs since that time. They have provided machinery for cleaning debris and provided temporary homes for families. Local neighbors have donated food, clothing, and household goods to the victims. The municipality requested help with basic appliances to furnish the new homes: refrigerators, washing machines, and stoves. As families rebuild permanent homes these appliances can be transferred there.

Each ceremony we attend is so different and we never know quite what to expect. Our reception to this small community was overwhelmingly sweet. The entire community greeted us with hugs and tears and words of gratitude. This is when we wish that all of you who donate to the humanitarian aid fund could be with us to receive their thanks. They had prepared dinner for us. We enjoyed local delicacies with the Los Laureles families.

As we stood to leave each family came forth with a gift that they produced on their land: peaches, figs, grapes, goat cheese, walnuts, raisins, bread, and wine. (the mayor and his assistant were thrilled that we gave the wine to them) Community members serenaded us and hugged us and thanked us some more. As we drove down the mountain to Ovalle that evening our hearts were full of love and admiration for these good people and their positive outlook for their future.

The area is so arid and dry, yet five separate valleys are bursting with agriculture- an oasis in the desert. We discovered the water source- a reservoir that is only 30% full. Like much of the rest of the world, they are experiencing dramatic drought conditions.

Perhaps these are some of the goats that provided the huge block of goat cheese we brought home with us.

SALAMANCA

On a foggy Friday morning, we started our trek back to Santiago by way of Salamanca.

The Second company of bomberos in Salamanca serves 32,000 people; many of the residents are located outside city limits. This bomberos company is currently housed in an old hospital and when on duty, the volunteers sleep on old rickety beds and used mattresses from a hotel. 40 volunteers make up this company, 12 being women. The donation of new bunk beds, mattresses, sheets, and pillows will provide the firemen with a sanitary place to sleep while on duty. Heaters will help provide warmth this winter as there is no central heat in their facility.

As we have mentioned before, these firefighters are all volunteers. We asked the bomberos that attended the ceremony what their day jobs were. One is a human resource director at the municipality, one works in the health department, one at the water district, two work for copper mining companies, and one works at a water bottling company. When our local church leader asked what motivated them to spend their free time as bomberos the reply was unanimous- they just want to serve their community. There was a sweet spirit as we were surrounded by these good people with service hearts.

We arrived back in Santiago in time to go on our Friday night dinner date with Lindquists.

VINA DEL MAR

On Saturday morning we headed to the coast for a ceremony with bomberos in Vina Del Mar. The volunteer firefighters in Vina del Mar do not have the funds to replace old equipment. The donation of respirators and defibrillators will allow these first responders to better care for those with emergency health conditions and protect firefighters as they enter smoke-filled buildings. These volunteers work tirelessly for the welfare of the people in their community.

As part of this project our church opened one of our chapels for community members to take a class called “Stop the Bleeding.” Firefighters taught this first aid class and community members who completed the course received their certificates at the ceremony.

We enjoyed lunch at a seaside restaurant with Carlos Ceballos and his wife Elba Irene. We have been trying to schedule this for over a year. We don’t even know what Carlos’s official title is at our office. All we know is that he takes care of us- anything we need at our apartment or in our office – he is there. He sticks his head in our office every day with a friendly, “Como esta Familia Lamb hoy- todo bien?” He sends repairmen to our apartment, he tells us when we should not leave the office because of possible civil unrest, he finds storage space for our side projects like computer donations, he brings paper for our copy machine and water for our water dispenser. He is just always there for us with a smile and a solution to any problem. We wanted to thank him and his wife for his kindness. He says he is just doing his job, but we told him he goes the extra mile. We walked the coastal boardwalk after lunch and enjoyed watching local artists at work.