The Adventures of Super Hector!

Pasos y Pedales is… Every single Sunday here in Guatemala city, one of the main traffic arteries (Avenida Las Americas AND Avenida Reforma) Are closed to vehicular transit. Instead of that, it gets populated by lots of families and running/biking/skating enthusiasts, to enjoy a sunny day (almost always) of leisure walking with family and friends. […]

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Today was a great day! The off road ambulance project hit the first milestone, as the vehicle came back painted TOTALLY WHITE!!! Also many of the repairs that needed to be done are already taken care of. This is great, we have a nice clean white vehicle to start with the other phases of […]

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The idea behind the ORAAV (Off Road Ambulance Assistance Vehicle) is to have a fully configurable vehicle that can serve and assist in many of the first responders duties. This post is about the ideas for the different modules and is just a pointer and a reminder of where the project is headed. Read on […]

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PICTURES FOR THE PROJECT ARE HERE!!!

Project update (01/2008): As of January 2008 the car has been in the shop (for phase 1) for almost 4 months! The guys at the shop told me they are “almost ready” now I have to come up with the bucks to pay them!!! :~ see the updated pictures from […]

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Wohoooooo!!! Finally the day arrived when we saw and heard our station’s call to action on a fire incident: One loooong ring and the red light commanded us to get aboard the fire truck, strap our turnout gear and haul ass to a still developing fire. Man, it was a kickass experience! A great learning […]

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In my nascent life as a firefighter there have been quite a few happenings: I did my practice rounds (while still a student) as a final step for graduation, I have posted here my final scorecard! I also GRADUATED! Then there is my first day in service in which a small initiation took place, I […]

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Super Hector in the news! Graduation Day Video
Graduation Day Finally arrived! November 12th 2007 I was invested officially with my firefighter helmet! The crowning of a whole year’s work and toil, every weekend, preparing to “serve our community” and humankind. The graduation turned out to be excellent and I got my 15 seconds of […]

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Well, the ORAAV Proeject has officially started!!! Today, the old, rusty and beaten down jeep Grand Cherokee was picked up by the boss of the local shop I hired to start working on the project! They are going to take care of Phase 1: Fixing a lot of issues in the car and returning it […]

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As graduation day approaches (I’m studying to be a fireman, remember?), we were sent to tailor our would-be-uniforms at the official uniform outfitting place, here in Guatemala. It is so exciting to have the impending sense that, in a few short weeks, we will be graduating as fire fighters and wear these great uniforms. Read […]

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Well, there have been so many activities here at the local firefighter school in Guatemala that I thought it would be better to create just ONE POST with some of the latest news. In this post you can find links, info and pictures about a subterranean rescue drill, a visit to the local dumpster and […]

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The other day the “American School” here in Guatemala was seeking a fireman for “professions week”, to come and give a speech to pre-schoolers about what it is to be a fireman, what do they do, and hopefully to inspire some kids to become one. So I sought out to coordinate with some fellow REAL […]

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This post has no picture, on purpose! Out of respect for the lady subject!

I had one of the greatest and most reassuring experiences on my career as a fireman. Today I am taking a plane to LA. On my way to the gate a lady had seizures and fainted, people where standing around […]

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Today (Saturday June 8th) was a great day, we are the first firefighter’s student promotion to use the great Impulse Fire Extinguishing Technology from IFEX. This is a real dream come true for fire fighting. Read on for more in this great fire fighting gadget!
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The other day we did practices with one of the firetrucks, down at the fireman’s school. We got to turn the engine on and drive all the water pumps and operate them. It was a thrill. Here are a couple of more pictures…
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Last weekend we had the great opportunity to not only learn about Fire Extinguishers but also PRACTICE with them! Here is what actually went down in the practice… I know I gave out the ending in the title (fire was extinguished) but read on… there are more pictures in the next page…
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This appealing invitation is from the local firemen department in Guatemala city (Bomberos Municipales) Here is their incredible motivational pitch for you to join them…

During the course of his duty, the fireman will encounter risks of mutilation, deformation, contamination, contagious diseases, ending up in a wheel chair, sudden or gradual loss of health, emotionally traumatic […]

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