Firefighters Crossing Borders initiated it's relationship with the State of Sinaloa in 2006 with the delivery of a 100 foot ladder truck to Bomberos Culiacan. A second training session brought in firefighters from Mazatlan and other neighboring departments leading to the development of the Sinaloa Fire Training Symposium.2012 Third Annual Sinaloa Fire Training Symposium Major Success
Seven instructors from Firefighters Crossing Borders.org are headed homeward after conducting a very successful three day symposium in the State of Sinaloa.
The 4th Curso de actualizacion para Bomberos del Estado de Sinaloa was held in the capitol city of Culiacan and hosted by that city’s fire department and the state association of firefighters. The state police training center was utilized for the second year as the hub for classrooms and ceremonies and other locations around the city used for field exercises.
Three programs were offered this year, each 3 days long. The kick off year for swift water rescue training and program development focused on emergencies in arroyos and rivers. Lead instructor Clayton Williams of Canmore, Alberta was joined by comrades Chris McKenna and Jimmy MacDonald, all long time swift water rescue experts. Fire attack training utilizing live fire was taught by Paul Spencer of San Juan Island, and Juaquin Hubbard of Seattle, both from Washington State in the USA - their focus fighting fires in commercial occupancies.
The third track, fire officer development, emergency incident management, ventilation, and forcible entry techniques were taught by Edgar Ramirez originally from Mexico City, Mexico and Jordan Pollack from Washington State, USA.
Culiacan is a large urban center which lends itself well to providing training props in unoccupied buildings. Thanks to the tireless preplanning by the chief and administrative staff of the Culiacan Bomberos, multiple buildings and props were found.
Firefighters and fire officers from ten departments around the State of Sinaloa were in attendance this year, a total of almost 90 participants. Much planning for both Culiacan and departments statewide occurred on this trip as well for training, vehicles, and equipment.
Support for this annual symposium comes from many areas including Culiacan Fire Department, Sinaloa Firefighters Association, generous grant funding, and Firefighters Crossing Borders.org. Planning for the 2013 symposium is already underway.
