About

How Belize Heroes Makes Belize Safer in the Face of Fires

In the fall of 2016, a friend encouraged Archibald “Mac” McFarlane to formalize what he’d already been doing for some 16 years: gathering used fire equipment donations, packing them up in a barrel, and shipping them himself from Virginia to Belize.

During his visits home to Belize, he would visit with his former fellow firefighters and Chief of the National Fire Service there, to see what their needs were and how he could help more.

But he always wanted to equip and empower them in a bigger way.

So on his friend’s suggestion, Mac began speaking with leaders of Richmond-area nonprofits to figure out how to best structure the official organization he dreamed of.

Soon after, Mac started the Virginia Emergency Services Assistance Program (VESAP) for Belize.

Also passionate about firefighting and rescue, Sandra Morris and Marquita Whisonant promptly joined Mac to form the board of directors for this federally recognized 501(c)(3). 

Thanks to the CreateAthon@VCU, which helps non-profits with branding and marketing collateral, in 2019 VESAP for Belize became Belize Heroes.

After more research, careful consideration, and many discussions, the original directors defined four areas in which Belize Heroes could make significant contributions and have measurable impact on the Belize National Fire Service (BNFS), Belizean citizens, and tourists:

1. Equipment – To provide equipment that will aid in the mitigation of fire-related calls as well as of motor vehicle collision (MVC), hazardous material incidents, technical rescue, and fire prevention programs, etc.
2. Electronics/Technology – To acquire computer hardware and software to create and implement an incident-reporting and -management system that will be used as an additional resource to track emergency calls, trends, and anticipate future needs.
3. Training – To facilitate training in the topics mentioned in section 1, as well as incident command training, utilizing the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as a minimum standard, Train-the-Trainer (T-t-T).
4. Fire Prevention Code – To explore models of national fire prevention codes, with the ultimate goal of adopting a national fire prevention code for Belize, because the country currently does not have one.

Mission and Purpose

The mission of Belize Heroes is the same today, which is to aid in the provision of technical assistance and equipment to ensure the delivery of public safety services to the citizens of Belize and to those who visit her shores.

To accomplish its mission, Belize Heroes assists the Belize National Fire Service (BNFS) in achieving public-safety excellence by providing equipment, training, and technical expertise from Virginia to Belize, resulting in more developed emergency services that address present and future needs.

We repurpose equipment, knowledge, and technology so that resources are leveraged and transformed, building capacity in Belizean emergency personnel, with the ultimate result: saving lives.

Vision

Our vision is:

• To partner with private businesses, local government, and public organizations to develop and implement innovative life-safety risk-reduction programs.
• To assist the Belize National Fire Service in being the leading provider of public-safety services in Belize.
• To expand the voluntary system within the fire department to assume a more active role in communities not served by 24-hour staffing.