By Ryan Boetel
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — They’re from different countries and different cultures, but fire burns the same in Albuquerque as it does 500 miles south.
Three firefighters from Chihuahua, a Mexican city about 550 miles south of Albuquerque, are joining an Albuquerque Fire Department academy class that starts Monday.
The 20-week course gives the Mexican firefighters a chance to see how their counterparts train in the states, said Gene Gallegos, Albuquerque fire’s training division commander.
It’s the second time that Albuquerque has hosted firefighters from Chihuahua. A group came up and completed an academy class about 10 years ago as part of a sister cities program. Joel Estrada, the Chihuahua fire chief, completed the course in Albuquerque the last time the city hosted firefighters.
“My class 10 years ago ... It’s very important, everything I learned here,” he said. “It’s very, very important for us, the training for firefighters.”
The foreign firefighters will stay at Old Station 14 in West Albuquerque.
There are some significant differences between being a firefighter in Mexico compared to the United States. The Chihuahua firefighters don’t go to medical calls, which make up about 90 percent of Albuquerque fire’s calls for service, Gallegos said. The 150-member department handles calls for service for a population of about 800,000. In Albuquerque, about 685 firefighters handle calls for about 600,000 people.
But when it comes to fighting a fire, not much is different.
“It’s all the same dynamics,” Gallegos said. “If a structure is on fire we all take the same safety precautions.”
The three firefighters from Mexico have between five and 13 years of experience. They’ll work alongside 39 cadets who are trying to join Albuquerque fire.
Fire Chief Paul Dow said that the local firefighters can get benefits out of the arrangement, too. He said the younger cadets will be getting training alongside more older and experienced firefighters.
And Dow said he’s seen firefighters in New Mexico train alongside the Mexican counterparts, who can demonstrate how to perform things like vehicle extractions without using the Jaws of Life. He said that can come in handy if there’s equipment failure.
“In certain areas they are going to be able to teach our instructors, ‘Hey, this is how we’ve been able to accomplish this with less,’” he said. “Here’s how to get the job done without the equipment.”
Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal