During the recent Sister City visit by City of Ashland delegates to Guanajuato, Ashland Fire & Rescue received a special recognition from Mayor Samantha Smith for the ongoing support of Guanajuato’s Heroico Cuerpo de Voluntarios Bomberos, Guanajuato’s volunteer fire department. Over the span of three decades, Ashland has donated three ambulances and two fire engines that can be kept in running order in Mexico for many years longer than here, with several still serving the citizens of Guanajuato. Additionally, over the period of three years, six firefighters from Guanajuato traveled to Ashland to participate in training that was co-hosted by the City, The Nature Conservancy and other partners as part of the Ashland Forest Resiliency Project. Through the forest management training they received here in Ashland, Guanajuato now has a Wildfire and Forestry program that employs ten firefighters and receives federal level funding from Mexican government to build fuel breaks and respond to wildfires across the region! There were particularly proud to tour their work and talk with Forestry Officer Chris Chambers during the May visit.
“It was incredibly rewarding to see what they have built using skills and inspiration from being in Ashland,” Chambers said. “In many ways they have grown beyond what we are able to do here. I’m really excited for their program and all the success it’s bringing to their department and it was an honor to accept the recognition of our ongoing partnership on behalf of the many people who, over many years, have contributed to the amazing relationship between our fire departments and from person to person.”
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