Remarks of U.S. Consul General in Monterrey during Hazardous Material Equipment Presentation

CG Crawford speaks to reporters immediately following the event.

Mexico City, October 27, 2011 – U.S. Consul General in Monterrey Nace Crawford presented yesterday $560,000 of hazardous material equipment for ten Mexican cities in a ceremony in San Luis Potosí yesterday, as part of Mexican and U.S. governments’ mutual commitment to work together in responding to natural disasters. The following are the Consul General’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“Good afternoon. Fernando Toranzo Fernández, Governor of San Luis Potosi; Victoria Labastida Aguirre, Mayor of Municipality of San Luís Potosí; Licenciada Gurza Jaidar, Coordinadora General de Protección Civil de la Secretaría de Gobernación; citizens of this great city of San Luis Potosi.  I thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today for this important ceremony.  

“It is my honor to represent the United States Government on this wonderful occasion.  It is yet another marker of cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico across the full range of our relationship; of cooperation in areas that transcend national borders, that recognizes the need for shared solutions to common problems, and that builds enduring, mutual understanding and friendship.

“High-level bi-lateral cooperation in mutual assistance in the face of natural and man-made emergencies is not new to us; but it is recent.  In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Mexico was among the first nations to provide assistance to Americans in a time of need.  The Mexican Government sent assistance through the Mexican Red Cross while Mexican Armed Forces personnel and Mexican aid workers, provided humanitarian assistance both in New Orleans and in San Antonio, where many evacuees had fled. 

“Similarly, in June 2010, when Hurricane Alex caused disastrous flooding caused road blockages and infrastructure damage in Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon, the U.S. responded with special funds for the local purchase and delivery of emergency relief supplies and sent a five-person assessment team to support Mexican relief efforts. 

“Again last April, when wildfires were raging in Coahuila, two specially equipped U.S. Air Force planes responded to a Mexican government request to provide additional spraying capacity for fire retardant.

“And six weeks ago, when we marked the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, we were reminded that the “Tecnicos en Urgencias Medicas, Seguridad y Rescate 19 de septiembre,” better known as “los Topos,” were at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center helping to look for survivors. 

“That is how good neighbors support each other.  Today we are marking further steps in mutual support in emergency response. This ceremony concludes a $1,000,000 program to train and equip first responders in ten Mexican cities in hazardous material emergency preparedness and containment.  This program will help Mexicans in these ten cities respond effectively to large scale spills and other emergencies that can occur with industrial chemicals and common materials such as paints, fuels, and solvents.  The equipment purchase and training was funded by USNORTHCOM and implemented in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Protección Civil de la Secretaría de Gobernación.

“Today’s event is the culmination of almost two years of work.  As part of our Governments’ mutual commitment to work together in responding to natural disasters, Lic. Gurza identified training and equipment for Mexico’s first responders as a high priority.  Today’s ceremony is providing more than $560,000 of hazardous material equipment (40 pallets) for first responders who have received specialized training over the past six months in 10 cities (Texmelucan, Tulancingo, Ecatepec, Querétaro, San Luís Potosí, Gomez Palacio, Tula, Navolato, Leon, and Salamanca).  Training for the city recipients occurred in two sessions, an initial qualification training in the summer of 2011 and follow-up/refresher training mid-September.

“I want to offer my special thanks to perhaps the most important people here today - the first responders and government officials representing those ten cities.  Their outstanding participation in hazardous material training over the past several months has enhanced their capacity for responding to hazardous material emergencies, and thereby to protect their fellow citizens and communities. 

“In addition to this project, we are also working to build further partnerships between Protección Civil and the Fire Chiefs Association and the Federation of Firefighters, to expand our collaboration in future fire fighter training and equipment projects.  All of these initiatives were achieved due to a common understanding of the critical requirement for first responders to have the necessary and appropriate training and tools to protect and serve our citizens.

“In closing, let me recognize several individuals who made today’s event possible.  Licenciada Gurza and her team, especially ingeniero Issac Olivas and ingeniero Neri Gonzalez; Chief Benavente; Kiel Fisher from the U.S. Department of Health Human Services, the Ciquime hazardous material training company, and U.S. NORTHCOM representatives, Mr. Don Hart and Ed Maldonado.  They all worked tirelessly to ensure you received quality training and the equipment you will return with today.

“Again, I want to thank the federal, state and the city officials for making this opportunity. 

“Muchas gracias!”