{"id":794128,"date":"2019-03-19T18:57:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T00:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridge-area-firefighters-donate-ambulance-to-rural-honduras\/"},"modified":"2019-03-19T18:57:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T00:57:00","slug":"breckenridge-area-firefighters-donate-ambulance-to-rural-honduras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/breckenridge-area-firefighters-donate-ambulance-to-rural-honduras\/","title":{"rendered":"Breckenridge-area firefighters donate ambulance to rural Honduras"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.7479224376731\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-363189-401\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Joyce Mueller | The ambulance is blessed at a ceremony at St. John's Episcopal Church in Breckenridge before getting shipped off to Honduras.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1.jpg\" alt=\"The ambulance is blessed at a ceremony at St. John's Episcopal Church in Breckenridge before getting shipped off to Honduras.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>The ambulance is blessed at a ceremony at St. John&#8217;s Episcopal Church in Breckenridge before getting shipped off to Honduras.<\/strong><br \/>Joyce Mueller<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Sawyer D'Argonne \/ Sdargonne@summitdaily.com | Drew Hoehn provides a look inside the Red, White &amp; Blue's new ambulance. The new vehicle is all-hazard, meaning it's equipped to handle medical emergencies and assist in fires. The ambulance also has upgraded safety features, along with new design nuances such as a ski and snowboard compartment for patients taken off the slopes.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"9\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Drew Hoehn provides a look inside the Red, White &amp; Blue's new ambulance. The new vehicle is all-hazard, meaning it's equipped to handle medical emergencies and assist in fires. The ambulance also has upgraded safety features, along with new design nuances such as a ski and snowboard compartment for patients taken off the slopes.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Drew Hoehn provides a look inside the Red, White &amp; Blue&#8217;s new ambulance. The new vehicle is all-hazard, meaning it&#8217;s equipped to handle medical emergencies and assist in fires. The ambulance also has upgraded safety features, along with new design nuances such as a ski and snowboard compartment for patients taken off the slopes.<\/strong><br \/>Sawyer D&#8217;Argonne \/ Sdargonne@summitdaily.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Sawyer D'Argonne \/ Sdargonne@summitdaily.com | A look at Red, White &amp; Blue's new ambulance.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"A look at Red, White &amp; Blue's new ambulance.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A look at Red, White &amp; Blue&#8217;s new ambulance.<\/strong><br \/>Sawyer D&#8217;Argonne \/ Sdargonne@summitdaily.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Sawyer D'Argonne \/ Sdargonne@summitdaily.com | A look at Red, White &amp; Blue's new ambulance.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/SummitHonduras-SDN-032019-1-3.jpg\" alt=\"A look at Red, White &amp; Blue's new ambulance.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A look at Red, White &amp; Blue&#8217;s new ambulance.<\/strong><br \/>Sawyer D&#8217;Argonne \/ Sdargonne@summitdaily.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridge-area-firefighters-donate-ambulance-to-rural-honduras\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridge-area-firefighters-donate-ambulance-to-rural-honduras\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Red, White &amp; Blue Fire Protection District is set to roll out a brand new ambulance in the coming days, an all-hazard apparatus equipped to handle medical emergencies, assist with fires and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While the new vehicle is undoubtedly impressive, it\u2019s nothing compared to what they have planned for the old one. Red, White &amp; Blue is currently in the process of donating its old ambulance to <a id=\"N0x174cd90N0x14d92f0:N0x174cd90N0x140ffe8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitinhonduras.com\/\">Summit in Honduras<\/a>, a nonprofit group based in Breckenridge that provides aid to rural villages in the country by building schools, providing clean water initiatives and hosting medical clinics among other outreach programs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Once delivered, the ambulance will be housed at the Manos Amigas clinic near La Entrada, not far from the border of Guatemala, helping to transport locals to the nearest hospital more than two hours away. The fire district has been a partner with Summit in Honduras for the last three years, and for those who\u2019ve made the trip before, the need for an ambulance was obvious.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen we were down there at this clinic we saw it firsthand,\u201d said Drew Hoehn, battalion chief with the fire district. \u201cPeople wouldn\u2019t come in because it\u2019s such an effort and there\u2019s financial hardships in getting from point A to point B because they\u2019ve got to pay for a bus. A lot of these people have little-to-no money. They would deflect their health issues until it became a crisis situation. The hope is that the culture changes a little bit in this region the ambulance will serve, and people may ask for help sooner and increase their overall health, or in the most extreme cases their likelihood for survival.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The move comes in part due to the fire district\u2019s decision to upgrade to a new ambulance. The department received a $100,000 grant from the state to help purchase the new ambulance on the condition that the old one was donated to a nonprofit organization. The ambulance will be used primarily as a simple medical transport, assisting locals in meeting their appointments at hospitals and clinics for free. The ambulance represents a significant upgrade over the area\u2019s current methods of medical transportation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe nearest hospital is about two hours away,\u201d said Maggie Ducayet, founding director of Summit in Honduras, which has been providing outreach to the area since 2005. \u201cWhen there was a need for someone to be transported they would be put in the back of a pickup truck or the back of a car. This ambulance is a game-changer for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The ambulance received an in-kind inspection from Specialized Truck &amp; SUV in Frisco and a blessing from the St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church this weekend. It\u2019s ready to be transported as soon as all the donation paperwork is finalized. The plan is for the fire district to drive the vehicle to Houston, where it will be shipped on a boat to Honduras.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The ambulance isn\u2019t the only piece of equipment that will be sent. Once word got out about the ambulance, the fire district received a variety of peripheral donations from other fire departments around the Western Slope, including bunker gear, EMS equipment and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe received hard and soft goods from fire departments from here to the Roaring Fork Valley,\u201d said Hoehn. \u201cThe ambulance isn\u2019t going down empty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This isn\u2019t the first experience the fire district has in foreign countries. About 15 years ago the district donated a fire engine to Cambodia through the Douglas Mendel Cambodian Relief Fund. Nor is it the first experience the group has in Honduras specifically. <a id=\"N0x174cd90N0x14d9350:N0x174cd90N0x14104f8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/local\/breckenridge-area-fire-department-partners-with-nonprofit-to-train-paramedics-in-honduras\/\">Annual trips for firefighters began in January 2017<\/a> \u2014 in partnership with Summit in Honduras and the Summit Rotary Club \u2014 primarily to a town called Santa Barbara about two hours east from La Entrada. Over the last two years firefighters with the district have made four trips, <a id=\"N0x174cd90N0x14d93b0:N0x174cd90N0x1410588\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/local\/breckenridge-area-firefighters-travel-to-honduras-to-offer-training-and-gear-to-first-responders\/\">providing equipment and training<\/a> for the area\u2019s local firefighters and EMS, and visiting the local orphanage and surrounding villages to conduct well-child checkups and teach fire safety, among other efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The group\u2019s most recent trip was in January this year. Firefighter and paramedic John Zeising is scheduled to return on a medical mission in May. The missions are entirely volunteer based, with firefighters making the trips on their own time and paying for the journey through fundraising efforts at the department. And while there\u2019s a clear utility in the trips for the locals in Santa Barbara, La Entrada and surrounding towns, there are also benefits for the firefighters who choose to go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s been fantastic in both directions,\u201d said Chief Jim Keating. \u201cThe people we send down there get a huge confidence builder you couldn\u2019t replicate here. It presents challenges and gets them to work through those challenges. It reveals challenges they haven\u2019t tapped before, and you have to dig harder to get the message and training across. It builds confidence in what they do, and what they can come back and do in our own organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">No plans have been laid in stone for 2020, though Hoehn said the department intends to send another group of firefighters back annually from this point forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOur first trip we went down because we had a spirit of adventure, and we wanted to see a different country and experience a new culture,\u201d said Hoehn. \u201cI can speak for all of us that we were smacked upside the head with the experience, and the interactions we had with the citizens of Honduras. People are fighting for survival, but you get a sense that the people we interacted with were extremely content and happy. It\u2019s a moving experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridge-area-firefighters-donate-ambulance-to-rural-honduras\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ambulance is blessed at a ceremony at St. John&#8217;s Episcopal Church in Breckenridge before getting shipped off to Honduras.Joyce Mueller Drew Hoehn provides a look inside the Red, White &amp; Blue&#8217;s new ambulance. The new vehicle is all-hazard, meaning it&#8217;s equipped to handle medical emergencies and assist in fires. The ambulance also has upgraded [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-794128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-13 22:37:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}