Following months of planning, ProJecto has brought more than 100 sets of firefighter bunker gear, helmets, hoods, boots and gloves to a carefully selected cluster of fire departments in the Dominican Republic. Visiting the provinces of Santiago Rodriguez and Valverde with stops in the municipalities of Bonao, Mao, Juan Dolio and La Vega, the country’s 4th largest city. This was an exceptionally emotional stopover, as La Vega’s fire department recently suffered the loss of three firefighters, who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting a building fire. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Darryl Sevalia and F/F Michael Lopez accompanied Team ProJecto on this journey, assisting with much needed training for the Dominican departments. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue for its equipment donation, spearheaded by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman. ProJecto is also grateful to Metro-Dade Firefighters Local 1403, Fire-Tec and Embarque Colonial for their assistance in getting the equipment in the hands of those who desperately needed it. As always, glory to Jesus for allowing us to do what we do.
