Schererville, Ind./Guatemala City (April 26, 2024) – Hearts In Motion (HIM), a nonprofit with a mission to empower volunteers to positively impact the lives of people in need, has announced the construction of a fire tower for its Fire Service International Division (FSI), dedicated to the advancement of the fire service, EMS, and first responders in Guatemala and other Central American countries. The three-story tower, funded by SET Environmental Inc., is the first of its kind in Central America and located in Guatemala City to help its more than four million citizens.
“We are hoping the tower will be completed in the fall of this year,” said Karen Scheeringa-Parra, founder and Executive Director of Hearts In Motion. “The containers are stacked almost the way we need them to be, however, in order to start welding, we still need a 20’ shipping container, which are very difficult to find in Guatemala.”
Over the past 20 years millions of dollars of firefighter equipment has been donated to Fire Service International including the Jaws of Life, turnout gear, and rescue equipment. More than 3000 Bomberos (volunteer firefighters) have been trained by FSI since 1999 creating a team of more than 6000 volunteers spread over 134 volunteer departments.
The training takes place multiple times a year. The most recent training session took place December 1-7, 2023 in Chicago, Ill., at the Robert J. Quinn Fire Academy. FSI has been working to train Bomberos at the Chicago Fire Academy for the past eight years and 37 firefighters from Guatemala have trained there.
Over the past 15 years more than 120 volunteers have traveled to United States Firefighter departments to train for best practices with the American first responders.
“The ability to send our volunteers to the United States to train with our American brothers and sisters is invaluable,” said Giovanni Cordon, El Comandante, head of the volunteer fire departments for the entire country of Guatemala. El Comandante is a title for the top fire official in Guatemala. “The ocean containers we need have doubled and tripled in cost, so any donations we can receive will be extra helpful.”
The tower is expected to open in 2025 and start training volunteers. To donate or learn more, visit Fire Service International or Hearts In Motion and on social Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X).
Hearts In Motion (HIM), is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1993. Its mission is to empower volunteers to positively impact the lives of people in need. HIM provides quality medical care, assists in the development of social programs to improve health, education, and welfare for people, and provides opportunities for individuals to participate in short term mission experiences in the U.S., Central andSouth America, enhancing the lives of people in poverty. In Guatemala, HIM operates a children’s home, nutrition center, senior center, daycare center, rehabilitation services, supports emergency and firefighter services, offers a sponsorship program for school age children, and provides medical care, training, and construction projects.
For nearly 30 years HIM has positively impacted the lives of thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of people in need while respecting their cultures. HIM also operates a thrift store in Schererville Indiana providing low-cost items for struggling families. With headquarters in Schererville Indiana, and satellite offices in Gualan, Guatemala, Louisville KY, Tulsa OK, and Mukwonago WI, HIM draws volunteers to service from across the US. To learn more, visit https://www.heartsinmotion.org/ and on social Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Media Contact: Aaron Gessner, Aarongessner13@gmail.com, 312-636-7804
