MONROE COUNTY FIRE RESCUE PARTICATES IN ROTARY INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM WITH FIREFIGHTERS FROM ARGENTINA

CRAWL KEY, FL – Monroe County Fire Rescue is participating with firefighters from Argentina in an exchange program sponsored by Rotary International.

Six volunteer firefighters from the Buenos Aires region spent two weeks in South Florida visiting fire rescue operations in Monroe, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Last week, the Argentinians were hosted for two days by Monroe County Fire Rescue, with accommodations at Station 13 on Big Pine Key.

In Argentina, most firefighters are volunteers. The six men in the exchange program spent one day at Monroe County’s new Joe London Training Facility on Crawl Key, where they learned several techniques.

One technique was bailing out of a burning building by going headfirst down a ladder, swinging their body around and sliding to the ground. This survival technique allows for firefighters to rapidly exit a building when conditions deteriorate and it is not possible to leave the building the same way they entered, said Charles Mather, Monroe County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief of Training.

They also learned VEIS – vent, enter, isolate and search. This is a technique used then there is a known occupant in a known area they can’t get out, from a small child to an elderly person who is bedridden.

And, the Argentine volunteer firefighters learned pump operations and hose handling on MCFR’s engines.

While with MCFR, the group also visited MCFR headquarters in Marathon and fire operations at Naval Air Station Key West.

On May 14 – 26, a group of six firefighters from South Florida will travel to Argentina. The group includes Mather and Monroe County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Francisco Perez Diaz.

For 113 years, Rotary International has promoted peace, fights disease, provides for clean water and sanitation, supports education and grows local economies, according to a release about the exchange program.

Under these guiding principles, District 4895 from Argentina and District 6990 in South Florida joined efforts to have a group of firefighters participate in an exchange program.

Osvaldo Lazzadi, Governor of District 4895 and Alan Cohn, Governor of District 6990 put in place a team to secure the success of this first-time project. They are Celia Giay, Judith Figueroa and Reinaldo Szama in Argentina and Lee Phares, Elihu Phares and Jay Sanchez in Florida.

The exchange program’s leaders wrote: “We have a group of firefighters that will share their expertise, challenges, strengths and limitations to find better solutions for safeguarding our communities. This program will make a difference. It will bridge the human and technical essence of two very different locations that share the same challenge. Hopefully, it will create a lasting change for all of us.”

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