FIRE CHAPLAIN

I n Peru there is one federal fire department with about 10,000 active members called: The Peruvian Volunteer Fire Corps. The Fire Corps is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The Fire Corps is all volunteer with some drivers and administrative personal being paid. The Fire Corps is divided into 25 Divisions for the whole country. Throughout its history of the Fire Corps has had many priests who have served in an informal way but there were no formal chaplains. Many priests have also completed the fire academy training and have served as firefighters.

The beginning of a formal chaplain service within the Fire Corps is related to the massive fire in Mesa Redonda in December of 2001 where part of a very large commercial section of the city caught fire due to an explosion in a fireworks warehouse resulting in 280 deaths, hundreds of injured, square blocks burned-out, and firefighters exhausted emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

A little while after that disaster, seeing the firefighters’ and victims’ needs, the Fire Corps’ national commander coordinated with the Archdioceses of Lima for the naming of a national chaplain for the whole country. He has been serving in a mostly ceremonial capacity.

Using a new view of a more active chaplaincy based a model from the Federation of Fire Chaplains of North America (FCC), a commission was named in Jan 2010 to develop written regulations and proposals for the expansion of the chaplain service in the Fire Corps. The commission includes the national chaplain, a lieutenant from the protocol office, a priest who is a firefighter, and Fr Chris Dunn, ofm, chaplain for Fire Company 120 and FCC affiliate. The commission has until May 2010 to submit its written regulations and expansion proposals and plans. Hopefully, once the plan is approved, there will be an active chaplain named and trained for each of the four Divisions that cover Metropolitan Lima and later in the other areas of Peru. Eventually there should be a chaplain for each fire company.

With the approval of FCC, the FCC training manual for chaplains is in the process of being translated into Spanish. This is a big language and cultural project as it involves adaptations to Peruvian culture and to Peruvian firefighters’ culture and practices.

In Jan 2010 the Fire Corps approved the use of death shrouds that will be used to protect the dignity of deceased persons in public areas. The “yellow press” commonly publishes shocking and disrespectful images of deceased people after accidents, fires, or acts of violence. The use of death shrouds by fire departments is promoted by Federation of Fire Chaplains (North America) in their training program for new chaplains. The disposable, one time use, shroud protects the dignity of the deceased until the morgue personnel arrives to place the corpse in a black transport bag (process which may take many, many hours in Peru). Chaplain Dunn requested a donation of burlap or tarp material from the John Holden Company, makers of high quality men’s shirts in Peru. The company’s CEO was so supportive of the project that he arranged for the cutting and hemming of the shrouds using the company’s highest quality shirt fabric. Forty shrouds have been distributed among Metropolitan Lima’s four Fire Corps divisions as a pilot project.