A group of volunteer firefighters from Mexico were among the people helping with the search-and-rescue mission in the aftermath of the floods that submerged Kerr County in central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend.
Fundación 911, a nonprofit that provides equipment and training to fire departments across Mexico, sent a crew of 40 members to support local first responders. The group, based out of the border city of Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, was established in 2023.
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In the morning of July 4, heavy rain caused the waters of the Guadalupe River to rapidly rise, leading to deadly flash floods that have killed at least 132 people, with an additional 160 people still missing.
Ismael Aldaba, president and founder of Fundación 911, told The Times that his organization immediately mobilized volunteers from the Mexican states of Coahuila and Nuevo León upon learning of the devastation. Within 12 hours, a group of 13 firefighters arrived in central Texas, with others joining them throughout their time in the state.
Members of Fundacion 911 from Ciudad Acuna with Texas Game Warden and Texas State Police working together in Hunt, Texas.
(Ismael Aldaba / Fundación 911)
“Once we learned [Kerr County was] affected, we knew we had to come down here. We knew this was a mission to come and help our brothers,” Aldaba said.
The volunteers dispatched by Fundación 911 specialize in rescuing people from fast-moving water and are among the few fire crews in Mexico with international certification in swift water rescue. The group also brought cadaver-detecting K9s to help with the field search.
“We just [wanted] to make sure that we can work as fast as we can and try to make some headway with all the things we [had] to do,” Aldaba added.
Fundación 911 worked alongside 400 first responders and volunteers from various agencies and organizations.
“When you are doing search and rescue, the more people you have on the ground, the better,” Brien Alexander, chief of the Mountain Home Fire Department told The Times.
Aldaba said that his group felt the appreciation from Texas Hill Country residents during their weeklong stay in Kerr County, adding that the Mountain Home Fire Department opened its doors to their fire house and let them stay with them. Anywhere they went, from stores to restaurants, community members would not let the volunteers from Mexico pay for anything.
“There was an outpour of kindness from this area,” Aldaba said. “It’s something we are not used to.”
During her daily news conference on July 8, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum recognized Fundación 911’s work by thanking each member of the team by name.
“That is our culture. We Mexicans are always supportive and brotherly. What is reflected in firefighters who go and risk their lives is the essence of the Mexican people. It is humanism,” she said in Spanish.
