Volunteer Firefighters of La Villa
The Bomberos de la Villa are a legally chartered Nicaraguan association of volunteer firefighters, second in active responses ONLY to Managua, with no source of guaranteed funding - not governmental, city, or private. As Granada’s Fire Department, and as the only fully functional professional team of firefighters in the city or province, the Bomberos (firefighters) de la Villa are required by law to respond to any and all emergencies in the province which threaten the safety and welfare of citizens. Without a secured source of funding the Bomberos de la Villa are reduced to searching for financial support on a daily basis to maintain service to the community. If the Bomberos de la Villa cannot respond to emergencies, there will be no other response.
The Amigos de los Bomberos is a citizen support group working to procure funding for the firefighters and change attitudes about them in the Granada community. Because of the lack of guaranteed funding source, Granada tends to think of these professional volunteers as a “social charity.” This misconception (that they are a charity) affects their ability to perform and their standing in the community-at-large negatively. Lumped in with “charitable giving” people and businesses often opt to say, “We’ve already given.”
The Bomberos de la Villa, in an effort to support themselves, offer many additional services to their community. The hiring of these unusual services can be a great way to help them move forward.
Main services include: Ambulance services, aid in traffic accidents, electrical fires, African Bee attacks, presence during public events, flooding, gas leaks, wild fires, rescues, retrieval of bodies, and protection for international flights.
Additional services include: water delivery, canals and waterways cleared, trees trimmed, banners hung, dump truck services and non-emergency patient transport.
Ongoing needs
Funds to pay for phone bills (The Bomberos must verify every call received for emergency or non-emergency services), electricity, food bills, utility bills, gasoline, repair on their vehicles, wages, scholarships for trainings and other education opportunities, funds to purchase radios and cell phones, protective clothing, equipment, land for their station (they currently work out of a small garage owned by the city).
Amounts and actions that can help:
- Monthly wages are $1220 overall.
- With $610, the monthly food costs can be covered.
- To cover the fuel expenses for a whole month, they need $1422.
- In order to pay for the telephone bill, the firefighters need $143 every month.
- The hiring of their additional services can be a great way to help them; it gives them the opportunity to earn their own funds.
