24-04-2025
'Emotional experience': Former Calgary fire truck arrives in Guatemala
A firetruck that saved lives in Calgary for over a decade will do the same near Quetzaltenango, Guatemala after it arrived there this month.
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Ferdinand is the name given to the former Calgary Fire Department engine that was given to Calgary Rotarians, for eventual donation to fight fires in the Central American city.
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After a five-year wait mired with pandemic-related delays and the complexities of crossing multiple borders, Ferdinand arrived in the country's capital, Guatemala City, on April 9.
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It was then driven three hours to Quetzaltenango, where it will primarily serve the nearby municipality of La Esperanza.
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'I'm so thrilled that it's actually got there . . . it's been a struggle at times,' said Barbara Young, a Rotary Club of Calgary Downtown member.
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Young received the initial request for the engine in 2019 from Marco Herrera, a Rotarian in Guatemala.
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'They have a volunteer fire department in Quetzaltenango, and they needed a fire truck,' Young said.
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La Esperanza's volunteer fire brigade was relying on an engine from 1960, which has many issues, according to Herrera.
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With borders closed and much of the world at a standstill, Ferdinand had no home — at least not yet.
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'When they took delivery of the truck, they needed a place to store it . . . I said, well, I'm sure we can find the spot out here,' Bill Redmond, a Rotarian and owner at Bucars RV Centre, told Postmedia.
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Although the shop just north of Calgary was meant as a temporary home for Ferdinand, it housed the engine up until it was shipped away this year.
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'The truck ended up being out here longer than we'd anticipated, and was kind of adopted by our staff,' said Redmond, noting that they took care of regular maintenance.
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According to Redmond, CFD was helpful in providing any information needed, including where to source parts. Rocky View County Fire Services even came to test the engine's pumps.
