Firetruck and Crew Aid Mexican Town

Three Oxnard firefighters, the mayor, a retired assistant fire chief and a retired fire engine all boarded a huge Navy transport plane bound for Ocotlan, Mexico this week.

Ocotlan and Oxnard became sister cities in 1964 to promote goodwill and friendship. Over the decades, the cities have exchanged everything from students and baseball stars to a classical guitarist and firefighting equipment.

Ocotlan, a city of 150,000 people located about 60 miles from Guadalajara, suffers from a severe shortage of life-saving equipment. A 1957-model fire engine, also from Oxnard, is the best engine serving the city, local officials said.

Oxnard will also present Ocotlan with specialized equipment for freeing trapped victims of auto accidents.

Through a special arrangement with the U.S. Navy, Oxnard obtained permission to bring the fire engine to Guadalajara with a transport plane from Point Mugu’s VXE-6 Air Squadron.

Mayor Manuel Lopez and the firefighters remained in Guadalajara for three hours Wednesday to train the Ocotlan firemen to use the new rescue equipment, then flew back that night.