Bomberos
YOU HAVE A CROCODILE IN YOUR HOUSE OR A GAS LEAK. Your car’s on fire. Someone has fallen down a well, a cistern, a septic tank. Who are you going to call? The Bomberos! Although the word implies the fire department, the bomberos of Puerto Escondido are really a State civil defense agency responsible for San Pedro Mixtepec and Santa María Colotepec, as well as other communities that need their help. They are also responsible for the five life guards on our beaches.
When a life guard rescues a drowning person, the bomberos ambulance and paramedic are first on the scene, unless they are elsewhere. (They have only one ambulance and one paramedic.) They also attend to accidents on the highway to Oaxaca and assist the local fire departments. The Guardia Civil of San Pedro Mixtepec and Colotepec each have their own fire engines.
The ten-member team includes five local residents and five who are on two-month rotation from Oaxaca and live in the station’s dormitory.
In an emergency, call the Bomberos 954 104 2494 or 911.
