For the first time in its 100-year-old history, the Loyalsock Township Volunteer Fire Company #1 hosted a firefighter from another country; Lt. David Castro Navarro, of Albacete, Spain, who spent nearly a week in early October living at the firehouse on Northway Road around-the clock.

A career firefighter in a city with a population of about 172,000, Navarro, who has a very good command of the English language, lived in the station with other firefighters, doing everything from training with equipment to responding to emergency calls.

The friendship between Navarro and the fire company began in May when township Fire Chief Richard Caschera and his wife, Sue, while on a cruise, met him at a vehicle rescue competition in Cartagena, a port city of Spain, where the couple’s ship had docked. Several fire companies throughout the country, including Navarro’s, were participating in this competition, which caught the Cascheras’ attention as they were traveling through the city.

The competition involved teams of firefighters “demonstrating their skills in extricating victims from staged motor vehicle crashes and initiating emergency care while being timed and scored,'” Sue explained.

The couple approached the competition, but when Richard tried to strike up a conversation with one of the firefighters, the fireman stopped him in his tracks because he did not understand any English. The firefighter immediately went and got his colleague, Navarro, who could better understand Caschera. Navarro’s fire company is about 100 miles north of the port city.

“I handed him my (fire company) card and told him ‘if you send me your address, I will send you a fire company patch and T-shirt, we can swap T-shirts,'” Richard said. Navarro invited the couple to visit the local fire station that day, but there was no time because the Cascheras soon had to get back on board the ship.

An avid swimmer who is a member of his country’s Police-Fire Olympic Team, Navarro told Caschera he was coming to Birmingham, Alabama, in July to compete in the World Cup Championship of police-fire swimmers. “I told him, if you’re coming to the United States, stop at our station. We’ll give you the full tour and you are more than welcome to ride-along with us on calls,” Richard said.

Unfortunately, Navarro could not make it to Pennsylvania in the summer, because he already had plans to visit the 9-11 Memorial in New York City and there just wasn’t enough time. However, he told Richard that he was willing to make a second trip to the U.S. in October. It turned out that Navarro could be here during Fire Prevention Week.

The Cascheras picked him up on Saturday Oct. 4 at the airport in Harrisburg. During the weekend, while staying at the couple’s home, Navarro visited several area fire stations as well as the county’s 911 center on County Farm Road.

“In his research, David wanted to be sure to get a Penn State sweatshirt while he was here. Where better to get one than right in State College. So we took him there. He experienced the ice cream. We also stopped at the Alpha Fire Company. That’s the main fire station in State College.” Richard said.

“He got a tour of the firehouse. It was great. We visited the campus and he got photos of the Penn Station Lion,” he added. Navarro even got in a swim at the YMCA in Williamsport.

“David was very interested in learning about how the combination of paid and volunteer firefighters works. It was hard for David to understand at times having volunteers, because Albacete has only a paid department,” Richard said.

When Monday came around, Navarro moved into the township firehouse for five days. “Forturnately, for the residents and the community, the week was quiet with no big fires or disasters. However, David was kept busy with daily tasks and responding to calls,” Sue Caschera, the company’s president and public information officer, said.

During his stay here, Navarro helped fire company members with fire prevention activities at local schools and daycare centers, she said.

Navarro also did training with the fire company, participating in a vehicle-extrication class that was held at the back of the station. During the exercise, the “firefighter brother from across the seas” was able to familiarize himself with what rescue tools firefighters in this county use and how they work, Sue Caschera said.

“Like participants in an international exchange program, David came here and got to wear our gear, our helmets and air packs. He worked it and lived on station,” Richard explained. “In just putting on the equipment, he showed very quickly that he could easily do many of the skills of a firefighter.”

“He rode on all the different pieces of fire apparatus,” he added.

“He really liked American food,” Sue said. “He had burgers a couple of times and chicken one time at the firehouse, and really enjoyed it,” she added.

Rich said Navarro and the township firefighters “had a great interaction” with one another during his stay at the firehouse. “David brought with him fire company patches and T-shirts for members here,” he added.

“A simple greeting on the street while visiting a new area,” Sue said, “has led to a camaraderie between two fire companies – Loyalsock Volunteer and Albacete Fire Company of Spain.”

It was a learning experience for everyone involved, Richard said.

“Here were two fire departments, continents away, whose mission is the same — to perform life safety for our citizens. I told him ‘Thank you for coming and helping our community.’ He replied ‘No, thank you for allowing me to help your community,'” Richard recalled in an interview last week.

“We really are all the same — doing our best to help people every day and share our knowledge with our ‘brothers and sisters’ no matter where they are from. We are a public safety family that lives all over the world,” Sue said.

The Cascheras plan to meet up with Navarro again in March when they take another trip to Spain. “He invited our firefighters to do live-in at his firehouse,” Richard said.