Neighbors in rural Los Angeles received training and tools to prevent forest fires

January 16, 2024

Preparation is essential when preventing forest fires, especially in the summer season.

With this logic, the residents of the Acampao Sur sector of Los Angeles achieved financing to purchase thirty fire extinguishers for the houses in the sector, thanks to the support of the San Matías Wind Farm Project of AES Chile.

The initiative was carried out through the 2023 Trust Fund that the company signed with the Acampao Sur Advancement Committee, as part of the park construction process.

Fire extinguishers play a vitally important role in the fire protection plan in all types of places, since when an accident of this type begins, they are the first elements that are used to try to control it.

This is how the characteristics of the extinguisher, its easy location and the use made of it are determining factors when it comes to preventing the spread of fire.

During this week the neighbors received basic tools to proceed in the event of a fire threat, as well as learning about the types of fire classification and extinguishers and also carried out practical exercises, which were led by Francisco Fabres, a risk prevention specialist from San Matias.

The head of Territorial Management and Communities in the Southern Zone of AES Chile, Benjamín Rengifo, said that “as a company our first value is to put safety first, so we are very happy to be able to contribute to the prevention of an issue that unfortunately occurs more frequently. frequency in summer.

Rengifo added that, given its rural condition, Acampao Sur is located 10 kilometers from the nearest Fire Company, which makes it very necessary for residents to prepare for this type of accident.

Romy Vargas, president of the Acampao Sur Advancement Committee, said that “we decided to buy fire extinguishers for the safety of the neighbors, since we are far from the Fire Department and all the houses are made of wood. This constitutes a risk in the event of possible fires.”

In addition, the leader added that "people did not know how to use fire extinguishers, so with the training everyone became clearer about what types of fire they can use it for and what it is for."

About San Matías

The San Matías Wind Farm project - which will have an installed capacity of 82 MW - is part of the Greentegra transformational strategy that AES Chile launched in May 2018 and which, along with accelerating the future of energy, seeks to contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change, through the development of renewable solutions.