No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveJacó May Soon Have Fire Station

Jacó May Soon Have Fire Station

Jacó, a booming beach town on the central Pacific coast, is one of many tourist towns in Costa Rica that depend on far-away fire stations. Thanks to efforts by a retired U.S. fire captain, a Costa Rican real estate developer and other community members, that may soon be changing.

According to Capt. Edward Mendel, a regular visitor to Jacó from his home in Key Largo, Florida, a GMC 7000 fire truck arrived here in early July, donated by Florida’s Palm Beach Fire Department to the National Insurance Institute (INS), the Costa Rican institution that oversees the National Firefighters Corps.

The truck will soon be part of Jacó’s community fire station in the works,Mendel said. The station will also service nearby Playa Herradura, to the north, and Playa Hermosa, to the south.

“We started working on this a year and a half ago,”Mendel told The Tico Times. “When I was here in Jacó looking for a fire station, I couldn’t believe they didn’t have one.”

The retired captain added that INS has agreed to match his efforts by donating a ladder truck.

According to Hector Chaves, the head of the Firefighters Corps, the donated fire truck is currently getting a check-up from the INS mechanics, and will be sent to Jacó as soon as a temporary location can be set up from which the truck can operate.

Mendel explained that Eduardo Acosta, a Costa Rican real estate developer, donated land for the fire station to be built on, and INS was in the process of evaluating it.

Chaves told The Tico Times the property is adequate, the community will begin the construction of the station and INS will finish it. In addition, INS will provide salaries for four firefighters, and the station will become “one more INS fire station, with all the benefits,” he said.

Through his nonprofit Bomberos International (www.bomberosinternacional.com), Mendel is also coordinating efforts to get firefighters and emergency response workers in the United States to come to Jacó and give training courses to people in the community, in exchange for free lodging at area hotels and other services.

“Our goal is to offer CPR, first aid and first responder training to everybody in town, and then go up a level and teach able-bodied people to actually be volunteers, to get certified to go into a fire scene,”Mendel said.

Chaves said that volunteer fire fighters from the community are “indispensable” for the fire station.

The donated fire truck also comes equipped with a “Jaws of Life” unit, which is machinery for extracting victims of car accidents, Mendel explained. In addition, the Palm Beach Fire Department in Florida donated a mile of fire hose, a smoke ejector fan and other fire-safety equipment.

Like Jacó, many other important tourist destinations such as Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean coast, La Fortuna, in north-central Costa Rica and Playa Tamarindo in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, do not have nearby fire stations, and INS has a budget to build only two a year (TT,May 27, 2005). Chaves, however, said that when there is “community support,” such as exists in Jacó, INS could open a fire station in addition to the two allotted per year.

 

Trending Now

Costa Rica’s Eyelash Viper Snake Is One of the Most Beautiful

There are at least 141 different species of snakes in Costa Rica. With that large number of species packed into such a tiny nation,...

Prisma Dental in Costa Rica Keeps Customers Happy and Smiling

I am 81 years old and have had teeth removed, bridges, and cavities fixed several times to sustain my ability to eat and function....

Guatemala Offers Asylum to Nicaraguan Migrants Deported by U.S.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced on Friday that his country will grant asylum to Nicaraguan migrants deported by the United States who do not...

Climate Change in Costa Rica Devastates Coffee Farms in Los Santos

In Costa Rica’s Los Santos region, famous for producing nearly half the country’s coffee, farmers are reeling from heavy losses driven by wild weather....

Costa Rica and Panama Seek Gold Cup Glory Against North American Giants

With no Caribbean teams advancing, a Central American contingent made up of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala heads into the quarterfinals of the...

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica