Comandos de Salvamento

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español.

credit: Carlos Najarro

This last Aug 31st, Comandos from the Central Base got together with members of our delegate base of Nejapa and Apopa to help the “Nejapenses” commemorate the explosion of the San Salvador Volcano in 1917. (source: (LPG) Many foreigners and North Americans were present to endure the infamous c*l%ro rah from many excited youth. A few pics on the delegate Base of Nejapa’s site.

Even King Diamond came down from the volcano to throw some balls of fire. Foto: La Prensa Gráfica.

Recently we have upgraded to wordpress multisite making it now possible for our smaller bases throughout the country to create their own blogs. In the next months, our satelite base in Nejapa will be showing their site to the world. Delegate members of outlying bases please contact apoyo at salvamento dot org if you have any comandos that are super nerds that want to be webmasters. Minimum requirements are to have access to the Internet and a digital camera. It would help if interested delegates have basic knowledge of HTML, XHTML, php, and social networking.

11 years ago we gave birth to Base Central de Comandos de Salvamento and now it is time for our other bases to shine.

This September 2010 we celebrate 50 years of sercice, so fasten your seatbelts since our delegate bases are going to unleased upon Cyberspace soon.

A full on salute to our delegate member base in Nejapa. Lead base commander Alex Torres and other EMS crews are standing watch over the cultural celebration, “bolas de fuego” tonight. They are present for whatever emergency might present itself,-from common fatigue, to of course the random, “torched hair”. It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye suffers burns, so be careful Nejapenses and have fun.

pronto..

A man died and another was gravely injured when a dirt wall collapsed while they were working on a plumbing system at the Don Bosco Industrial Center in the Community Iberia of San Salvador. The survivor was stabilized at the Emergency Walkin Clinic of Base Central. He was identified as 52 yo Miguel Ángel Ramirez. Deceased at the scene was 54 yo Cristóbal  Perez Miranda. CDS members on scene were Rafael Cruz and Elder Andrade. CDS support staff in the clinic was Manuel Marquina. Fotos: Francisco Campos

Manuel attends to the survivor.

Brigade Rescue members worked in extricating 20 yo Walter Arloldo Calles, a money collector for a route 109 bus, and 44 yo passenger Antonio Monzón who became trapped together when the bus crashed against a semi truck at KM 11 on the Troncal del Norte Highway on August 27 2010.  EMS crews were able to free the injured then transported them to Rosales hospital. Other injured patients included 57 yo Pablo Velasquez, 59 yo Dolores Juarez, 58 yo Juana Péres and 36 yo Vilma Valasquez. Fotos CDS/Francisco Campos

Our EMS workers and extrication team worked to free 25 yo Milton Ivan Galton Girón who was trapped in his vehicle along Peralta Ave. in San Salvador. The accident presented us with three other injured patients, Raúl Natanael Granados, José Pineda and 18yo Cristian Eduardo Nieto. Three drivers were involved when they were driving the following vehicles. A microbús  qith plates MB-5523, a pick-up with plates of P-145-927 and a car with plates of P-589-169. The injured patients were transported to the Social Security Hospital and Rosales ER. The 911 squad of the National Civilian Police offered scene security as the extrication was taking place. Fotos: Francisco Campos

Bolas de Fuego to be celebrated soon.
More info here. 

Ever since Comandos de Salvamento was founded in 1960, we have worked side by side with journalists that report from the “Danger Zone”.  Solidarity between journalists and EMS workers during events where sometimes both parties are threatened.  EMS workers are alert for whatever threat or situation that could be directed towards journalists and endanger them. Some may be evacuated due to suffering the effects of teargas or have been assaulted. This teamwork has solidified the solidarity between journalists-and comandos since CDS supports freedom of the press, and access to information and news even under the most trying circumstances.

Johny informing family member on the status of Victoria.

Our Comando Photographer Francisco Campos documented a trip we made to Mexico overland to pickup a Salvadoran National who wanted to repatriate back to El Salvador to have peace and die in El Salvador due to a chronic illness. Photo Essayhere @ contrapunto. Translation below.

Victoria de los Angeles pearl Castillo, a native of Santa Ana, attempted several times to reach U.S. through Mexico. After numerous attempts, she ended up living in Tapachula. After twenty years of being seriously ill, on June 2010 she was diagnosed with stage III cervical cancer, Diabetes Mellitus T “and trousseau syndrome/thrombophlebitis. The 52 year Salvadoran expressed her desire return to El Salvador, and die in her country.

The family made contact with the Directorate for Protection of Human Rights and Humanitarian Management via Ministry of foreign relations, who requested the collaboration of Comandos de Salvamento to repatriate her.  Even though she could not achieve her American dream she did obtain her goal of dying in El Salvador.

According to the Committee of Relatives of Disappeared/Deceased Migrants from El Salvador (COFAMIDE), told the newspaper La Jornada of Mexico,that 293 people in this country have disappeared or died in Chiapas, Tabasco, Veracruz and Oaxaca over the past two years. ” More than 80 percent of those who pass through this area suffer robberies, beatings, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and murder, never having the opportunity that Victoria did to die in their country.