Vancouver firehall ships lifesaving gear to developing nations

Tuesday brought a unique, but familiar rhythm to the usual routine for firefighters at Vancouver Firehall No. 10.

With the assistance of Two Small Men With Big Hearts Moving, they unloaded a shipment of recently decommissioned firefighting gear collected from various departments across Manitoba.

Spearheaded by Firefighters Without Borders Canada (FWBC), this annual initiative provides developing countries with essential firefighting gear.

“There’s nothing wrong with the stuff, it just doesn’t meet Canadian standards anymore. It keeps it out of landfills and [gives it to] people that really, really need it,” FWBC President Bob Dubbert told CityNews.

“We’ve gone overseas 19 times on training missions to several different countries,” Dubbert added. “You see first-hand in the areas what they’re up against and what a lack of equipment they have.”

Dubbert, a retired Vancouver firefighter, says that his organization has contributed over 35,000 tons of gear worth roughly $20 million to 21 different countries since the inception of the charitable program.

The nonprofit has also offered education to firefighters in developing nations.

“I’ve led a few of the training missions. We would generally offer about ten days of instruction,” he said. “We would teach everything from basic hose-and-ladders skills to auto extrication, hazardous materials, command, high-angle rescue. Mainly to show them how to use the equipment and maintain it properly, but also to identify what level of training they have.”

Dubbert added that this hands-on approach has provided invaluable insight for his organization to anticipate and acquire the necessary equipment for future donations.

“So next time, when we would send a shipment to a country, we would know they need more of this, or more of that.”

For Dubbert, whether he sees or hears about the difference made by the donated firefighting equipment, each moment validates the effort invested.

“Having middle-aged men have tears in their eyes when you give them a pair of fire gloves and hood, because they’ve never actually had anything like that before, knowing it’s a huge upgrade, it’s a pretty cool thing to see.”

“We’ve even had stories come back to us when we shipped a bunch foam to Manila, finding out weeks later that they used it at a major fire in a paint factory. It does a make difference in peoples’ lives.”

This year, the gear collected is being sent off to teams in the Philippines, Argentina, and Paraguay.