We are always happy to have an experienced Fire-Rescue instructor help with our programs. Are you flexible, adaptable, open-minded and resourceful? Do you have a drive to share your knowledge with your peers? Eager to travel and see the world outside of a Holiday Inn? If so, we would be overjoyed to have your expertise and assistance on a training mission in Guatemala. From Firefighter to Paramedic to Chief Officer, if you have the skills, we can put them to work.
Fire-Rescue Instructor – The Experience
Let us explain how it works, both in our small group classes and our larger schools. In our small group classes, 1 – 4 fire companies participate at a time, usually companies that work together on a regular basis. (Mutual aid companies – though it’s not called that here and is less formal.).
We move from town to town every couple of days, over a course of about 7-10 days depending on your availability. Generally, but not always, in the same region of the country. It’s a great way to see Guatemala and experience people and places that “gringos” rarely get to see.
What we teach specifically depends both on the instructor’s skill set and the companies involved, what they want and need and where they are currently in their training. Oft times it is predicated on what equipment we have donated to that particular group, making sure they have the basic skills to use the equipment safely and effectively.
Generally, there are two to four instructors, including one AMEDICAusa Fire/Rescue instructor on permanent staff. (Don’t worry, we aren’t going to send you into the wilds alone.)
AMEDICAusa Fire-Rescue Instructor in San Cristobal, Totonicopan
Logistics:
Because we are here in Guatemala most of the time, we are pretty flexible on dates. Every class trip is essentially custom tailored to the instructors. The most standard is to fly into Guatemala City on a Sunday morning, where we pick you up at the airport and drive to the first fire station where we will train. Advance warning, this can be a LONG drive depending on the town, and distances here are deceiving as the average speed over any distance is about 30 mph. The earlier you arrive in Guatemala City the better, so we have useful time for driving after we pick you up. We try to map the trip to make the most driving sense and avoid very long drives, but that is not always possible.
We don’t train the first day, though we might visit the station to see what they have and give you a chance to see what we will have to work with. The second day is for training, usually all day, with a break for lunch. The third day, unless we have scheduled multiple days in the same location, we move to the next station and repeat.We try and schedule at least one off-day for regular tourist type sightseeing at a place along our route, Maya ruins, Antigua, Lake Atitlan or another significant location… there are a lot of beautiful places here.
We will drop you back at the airport for your return flight.
Costs:
Airfare of course varies between U.S. cities, airlines and ticket agencies. There are several major airlines that fly to Guatemala City, AVIANCA, AMERICAN, UNITED, DELTA and SPIRIT, though I never use the last. Unfortunately, we don’t have the funding to pay expenses for our volunteers. We book hotels in the towns and cities ahead of time, and you can assume a $12-$20 dollar a night cost for the hotel (your own room). Expect about an equal amount for daily meals, though we often are fed by the department we are visiting. Both are very inexpensive compared to the U.S .
Spanish is not required:
We always have a translator who travels with us . Spanish is, of course, helpful but you will leave with at least a smattering of Spanish in any case. There are 23 different languages spoken here. Most are Maya dialects, and for many of the firefighters Spanish is their second language, but we manage to work around that for the most part. Many of the companies have at least one firefighter who knows basic English to help as well.
Basic Guatemala Fire Department information:
What we call a fire department in the states are called fire companies here, whether they have only an ambulance or whether they have Engine, Truck and Rescue.
There are two major nationwide firefighting organizations in Guatemala. One is the Bomberos Voluntarios , Volunteer Firefighters, and the other is the Bomberos Municipales, Municipal Firefighters. There is some temptation to consider it as similar to the States, but it isn’t quite the same. The Voluntarios all have some career staff and the Municipales all have some volunteers. Larger cities may have Voluntarios and small ones have Municipales, or vice versa (or both!). The chief difference is in organization and funding. There is also some competition between them particularly in Guatemala City, where they have on occasion come to blows. It is MUCH less so outside Guatemala city.
The career staff of each company makes about $300 usd a month. That is enough to survive, but not much more. They work a 24 on – 24 off schedule.
Most of their equipment is second hand, used American stuff, with a smattering of Japanese apparatus. Most is old. Their training is hit or miss. Though they all have some basic fireground skills, they don’t have the opportunity to drill much. They are, on the whole, physically much smaller than their American counterparts, so teaching proper technique is important. About a third are women, a much higher percentage than in the US, though their treatment and opportunity here is less than stellar. 80% of their calls are medical, as in the States. They all have an ambulance of some type, sometimes just a pickup, but many do not have an actual fire engine yet.
They have some EMTs (called TUMs in Spanish) but not everywhere. Paramedics exist but not with the same skill level as in the U.S. and mostly in Guatemala City. They have to purchase their own medications, so there isn’t much.
What you need to travel:
A valid U.S. passport with at least six months remaining before expiration. A visa is issued when you arrive in Guatemala at the airport. That will give you 90 days as a tourist… no advance visa is required. You do not need to exchange money, nor should you carry much U.S. cash. There are ATM’s available throughout the country, and you get a better exchange rates by simply withdrawing cash from the ATM with your U.S. debit card.
Effective January 10, 2022, the Government of Guatemala has imposed the following COVID-related entry requirements:
Passengers who are neither Guatemalan citizens nor Guatemalan residents are required to present both of the following:
- For all travelers aged 12 and over: Evidence of receiving a complete two-dose COVID-19 vaccination course (or one dose for Johnson & Johnson), with the final dose being administered at least two weeks before beginning your trip to Guatemala; and
- For all travelers aged 10 and over: Proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test from a certified lab conducted no more than three (3) days prior to check in at the airport or arrival at the land border.
- There are no exceptions to the vaccination/testing regulations.
Other Medical considerations:
Basic vaccinations are recommended. While part of Guatemala is technically in the malaria zone, there have been very few reported cases here. Talk to your doc about malaria prophylaxis, we don’t use it and few of our fire-rescue instructors have. Hepatitis A vaccination I would definitely recommend. Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya, all spread by mosquitoes, are present in some places, but there are no vaccines currently for these. The best preventative is good, high DEET containing mosquito repellent.
Again, we’ve been here, and in Honduras, for years and no problems. Paying attention to what you eat and drink is the most important illness preventative.
Most medications are available here and far cheaper than in the states. Few require prescription, except for antibiotics which became prescription required only in the last year. Medical care is very inexpensive, but the hospitals and clinics are notoriously short of equipment. Travel insurance may be a good idea.
General Weather and Climate:
Very warm in the lowlands, 90º+daytime, 80º night time, Spring like in the mountains, 70-80º in the daytime, 50º at night. Rainy season brings daily rain/thundershowers for an hour or two in the late afternoon. There are many different microclimates here, so it can vary a lot between towns, especially in the mountains.
A word about the mountains… these are real mountains. Some of the communities we serve are at or near 10,000 feet. Until you have acclimated, expect to be a little out of breath sooner than you would be in say, Kansas. If you have any medical conditions that might be exacerbated by high altitude, we can plan an itinerary that keeps to the lowlands.
The Big School:
Once every 12-24 months we do a big school. We partner in this case with the REDS Team, a Technical rescue group out of North Carolina who provide the technical rescue expertise and the bulk of the instructors.
It involves a hundred to a hundred and fifty Guatemalan Fire and rescue personnel traveling from all over Guatemala to one location, usually (but not always) the Guatemalan airbase in Guatemala City. The Class lasts for one week. Last year it was a water rescue class held here in Retalhuleu, along with a basic fire school.
Because of the more specialized and technical nature of the school, the process for fire/rescue instructor cadre is more selective, and candidates must be acceptable to both our and The Reds Team criteria.
When we do it in Guatemala City, the instructors are housed and fed by the Guatemalan military at the Airbase and flown at U.S. military expense to Guatemala. The payback for this is we include the U.H.R., Guatemala’s military rescue team in our training. It is much cheaper for the instructors but is less flexible in terms of dates and freedom of movement.
Because of the large numbers of students and instructors, there is less opportunity to travel and see the sights during this school.
Ready to be a Fire-Rescue Instructor?
If you are interested, shoot us an email below. Give us a brief outline of your experience and what you feel qualified to teach generally and what subjects you really like, and when approximately you might be available. We would love to hear from our next Fire-Rescue Instructor soon!