As most of you will be aware, last year saw some of the worst wildfires ever seen in the local area of Calpe and Denia. Many private houses were destroyed, many citizens had to be evacuated and many local volunteer firefighters risked their own lives to save ours.
It is hard to find words to describe the bravery of these men and women. The truth is that when we are running away from a fire these gallant volunteers run towards it. I emphasise that all of these people were volunteers, acting on our behalf regardless of nationality, fighting fire and generally helping to save lives. It is a testament to their bravery that we didn’t suffer a massive loss of life and we can all give thanks that they are there to help us.
Much of their equipment is old and at least partly worn out. Much of it has a limited life span and needs to be replaced regularly for them to be able to function as a firefighting team. More still was lost in this and other fires. This equipment is absolutely necessary but also can be very costly! Many local organisations offered help when it was most needed including local Freemasons, from the Lodge of Armonia de Ifach, the Calpe Charity shop, and The Lions.
In the photos attached you will see some of the equipment bought for the future use of the Calpe Civil Defence Firefighters. This comprises, vital breathing equipment which allows the firefighters to fight the blaze from close quarters, a light portable pump, again allowing closer access than a fire tender might be able to get, the hoses necessary to be able to connect from the water deposit to the pump and some more new hoses for connecting the pump to the nozzles.
The first photo, above, shows one of the Civil Defence personnel and the breathing hood and oxygen tank that we helped to buy.
The second shows WBro Stewart Gammer of Armonia de Ifach Lodge, Councillor Carole Saunders, Mr John Bridges of the Calpe charity shop and Sr Mattias Torres from Civil Defence.
The third includes the mayor of Calpe Sr César Sánchez and two firefighters.
Members of The Masonic Temple in Quesada were recently delighted to receive a cheque for six thousand euros, donated by The Masonic Homes of Valencia to go towards the cost of installing a new lift at their premises. Unfortunately the old one had been condemned as unsafe and this situation was causing real problems at the centre. Many of the Masons using the centre are of advancing years and some not as fit as they once were. To constantly climb and descend quite steep steps was becoming a problem, especially for those such as I forced to use a wheelchair. It was also difficult to transport the various Lodge equipment for use in ceremonies.
