Another fire truck heading to Paraguay, thanks to Lacombe firefighters

Thanks to a generous donation from the Alberta Society for Firefighters Abroad (ASFA) and Dow Canada, an aerial apparatus has been donated to the Cuerpo de Bomberos Voluntarios de la Ciudad de Encarnacion in the city of Encarnacion, Paraguay.

The society is made up many members of both Lacombe County and city of Lacombe firefighters, who regularly send used equipment to departments around the world who are in need.

Board Member of ASFA Eric Nicholas says this is the seventh truck they’ve donated but the first time they've donated something this large, and they picked a place in Paraguay where they think it'll be best used.

“We decided to focus on Encarnacion to receive this donation. With the amount of infrastructure that they have, the high rise buildings, larger commercial development, industrial sectors, we found that this truck with its foam capabilities and ladder capabilities would be best suited for that location.”

Nicholas says this aerial apparatus will help reach the taller buildings as that city grows and adds to their infrastructure.

He says they've donated a lot more than just vehicles to those fire departments in need.

“We’ve also just recently sent a C can that was equipped with multiple different types of firefighting equipment, PPE, medical equipment, medical stretches, and also a cargo van for carrying manpower to and from scenes.”

Even though the engine is now considered retired in Alberta, it still exceeds our provincial safety guidelines, meaning it'll find a second wind in Paraguay.

The truck will be headed to the west coast on Tuesday to start its 3-month journey in a shipping container to the city in South America.