Elgin, Chile partnership continues

The partnership that first formed between Elgin and Chile under tragic circumstances continued to play out this week with a visit by a representative of the Chilean equivalent of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Edgardo Escobar, who works in communications for the Chilean National Office for Emergency, met Thursday morning with Elgin Emergency Management Coordinator Karen Flanagan, and later visited the Elgin Fire Department's Station One, where he gathered informational pamphlets to bring back home.

Chile has launched its first nationwide Community Emergency Response Team program, which trains people who want to help in emergencies and disasters, Escobar said.

Escobar, who was accompanied by his wife, met with Flanagan to get insight and advice on how to run the program, which in Elgin numbers a couple of thousand volunteers from the area.

"We talked about how to implement it and how to educate people better about the program," he said.

For example, a tool useful to the CERT program in Elgin is a $300 web-based program with a free app that allows reaching out to volunteers based on need and other factors such as geography, said Fire Lt. Bob Bedard.

Elgin became a sister city with Cauquenes, Chile, in 2012 after it was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. Over the years, Elgin has donated large amounts of firefighting equipment, gear and even a used fire engine, largely thanks to Bedard's efforts. He also enlisted the help of community partners and other suburban fire departments.

Escobar, who also is a firefighter in Rancagua, Chile, had visited Elgin over the Fourth of July holiday in 2013 as part of a delegation of Chileans.

That time, the city spent about $2,800, including staff time for the visit, an expense criticized by some as frivolous. This time, no city money was spent at all, Bedard said.

Escobar is in the process of applying through FEMA and the U.S. State Department for authorization to attend the National Fire Academy in Maryland, Bedard said.