SCHERERVILLE | Firefighters from Guatemala made a stop in the area as they trained with fire departments throughout the country learning new skills and techniques as part of a program by Hearts In Motion, a non profit organization headquartered in Highland.

"We were lucky enough to train with one of the best specialists in extrication while we were in Ohio," Giovanni Cordon, Guatemala's third ranked Fire Chief explained through an interpreter. "He showed us easier techniques to get a patient out of a vehicle, and we also learned to be aware of airbags and where they are situated because as cars get newer, the placement of airbags has changed and we don't want to harm the people we are saving or our firefighters."

In Guatemala, firefighters are mainly called out for car accidents.

Guatemalan highways are two lanes and there is no speed limit, so the severity of the accidents are rather extreme. Fireman need to constantly learn all different kinds of techniques being used to save people quickly and efficiently, and that's what this two week training session was about.

The next project Hearts In Motion is setting their sights on is building a fire academy in Guatemala. They plan to build the academy out of used semi container boxes, the only problem is they'll need 24 of them and shipping them down to Guatemalais rather expensive.

For more information on Hearts In Motion, go to www.heartsinmotion.org