San Juan’s First Headquarters Of Voluntary Firemen NicaraguaVoluntary Firemen Nicaragua, - I remember as a child, most of the homes of the town were of wood. The nightmare of every adult, was a fire in the town... As few were constructed of concrete. You see, we did not have a fire department. It was an epoch of war and it would have been a catastrophe with a town fire. I remember early one morning in May, 1985, there was a huge fire in a street near the beach, some three families were affected, I do not remember many details. What I do remember is that the firemen had to arrive from the most nearby city, Rivas, 32 Km. from San Juan Del Sur.
During the government of Somoza, as far back as 1970, the need for Voluntary Firemen Nicaragua in the municipality had been a worry of some citizens. In that epoch the leader of the fire department of Rivas -Captain Leonidas Towers- founded the first headquarters of firemen of San Juan Del Sur. Given the interest of some settlers, this fire department would answer to departmental headquarters of Rivas... Sadly only it functioned for two years, for reasons, which should remain for the history. In the middle of the eighties, there were attempts by the Sandinista Government to install a fire department called SINACOI (National System Against Fires) The fire department was to be part of the Sandinista Police and the Civil Defense. All as part of the Interior Ministry, nevertheless, the idea remained abandoned and passed to oversight. Over the years, the Commander Miguel Antonio Guzmán – a fireman with more than forty years of service- tried to revive the voluntary fire department. The idea was always presented to the mayors of the municipality, but every intent seen no action. It was not until Ing. Eduardo Holmann launched his candidacy for mayor of San Juan Del Sur, was the idea reborn, when he himself proposed the creation of a volunteer fire headquarters. With the electoral victory of the Ing. Holmann, the idea was consummated. The new mayor contacted the representative of the Association of Voluntary Firemen Nicaragua –Mr. Jaime Delgado- and with the unifying efforts of Commander Guzmán, a Civic Assembly was called for January 19th, 2006. A board of directors of nine members was chosen. This constituted the first official headquarters of voluntary firemen of San Juan Del Sur, totally independent of Rivas. Finally, in the evening of February 10, the first fire engine in the history of San Juan arrived.
It is necessary to indicate that the voluntary fire brigade, subsists thanks to the effort of its members, who focused in the common good of the community, do not earn salary. City hall has instituted a tariff to the businesses for electrical connection inspections to help cover the fuel and maintenance cost of the fire engine. This article is a deserved recognition to the founders of the voluntary fire brigade, Voluntary Firemen Nicaragua, especially to my father. Author: Fernando J.Rodríguez For the Spanish version of San Juan’s First Headquarters of Voluntary Firemen Nicaragua click here. See what others have to say about San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua here. Should you be one of those fortunate few have experienced San Juan Del Sur please drop us a line with your adventure so we may share it with others.
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