Monday, September 24, 2007

Latino firefighters to gather for convention in Dallas

By Pegasus News wire

More than 300 firefighters from across the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and other countries come together in Dallas September 26-30 for the National Association of Hispanic Firefighters 12th Annual International Training Conference, "Building a New Generation of Leadership".

The conference—five days of training and informational workshops—includes bombero training for participating Latin American firefighters at the Dallas Fire and Rescue Academy. More than 50 firefighters from several Latin American countries will participate in the Spanish-language training, learning the most up-to-date rescue and fire fighting techniques.

"This is a unique aspect of our training conference; sharing with our fellow firefighters from other countries the best way to meet the dangers and challenges of the job," said Alberto Olmos, NAHF president. "It's also an opportunity for us U.S. firefighters to learn about ways to reach out to the communities we serve, many of whom come from those countries."

The conference will begin with a commemorative march through downtown Dallas to remember fallen firefighters who died while serving, protecting and saving the lives of those in their communities. The march will begin at 9:30 a.m., Thursday, September 27th, at the Adam's Mark Hotel, ending at the Catholic Foundation Plaza on Flora and Crockett Streets with a remembrance service and opening ceremonies.

"We must honor those firefighters who lost their lives protecting their communities. This march is a special tribute to those sacrifices and our way of saying we will never forget them," said Sal Morales, 2007 conference co-chair.

One of the priorities the National Association of Hispanic Firefighters is to reach out to the community to promote fire safety and accident prevention. A portion of the conference will be devoted to bilingual training of teachers and elderly caregivers. The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) workshop, Mis Primeros Pasos or Learn Not to Burn, is designed to instruct bilingual educators how to better inform fire safety to preschool and elementary students. The workshop Los Buenos Recuerdos is designed to teach caregivers for the elderly methods to promote safety, fire prevention and fall prevention.

"Members of our community are our partners in saving lives, so it's very important that they have the right information to prevent fires at home and to know what to do in case of a fire," said Ed Davis, convention co-chair.

Other activities scheduled include workshops about lessons learned from how major disasters and crisis were handled in New York, New Orleans and Houston. Firefighters and public safety personnel who were on the ground during the World Trade Center disaster of Sept. 11, 2001; Hurricane Katrina’s ravaging New Orleans in 2005; and the evacuation of Houston for Hurricane Rita will share their experiences and talk about changes that have been made to prepare for future major disasters.

The conference will conclude with a Bombero Awards Dinner and Ball on Saturday, September 29th.

Source: National Association of Hispanic Firefighters

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