Officials from the City of Tulsa, Tulsa Fire Department and San Luis Potosi, Mexico, fire department rededicated a fountain on Thursday given to Tulsa by its first Sister City in 1999.
The fountain was at TFD headquarters at Central Fire Station until it closed in July 2008. It’s been in storage since then but has been relocated to the Tulsa Fire Museum.
TFD Deputy Chief Charles French said there’s a lot the department can learn from their fellow firefighters in San Luis Potosi.
"They have a city with a population of about the size of Houston, Texas, which is close to 4 million, 5 million people, and they have five or six fire stations. That's amazing to me. So, there's a lot we can learn from them, and the future that we have and the partnership that we can form and continue to do some exchanges blesses not only us, but also them," French said.
The water feature is a replica of a historic fountain that came to Tulsa after TFD gave San Luis Potosi a fire truck. San Luis Potosi Fire Chief Adolfo Miguel Benavente talked about getting the truck back to their city. His words were translated by Israel Hernandez, the first international firefighter to attend the Tulsa Fire Academy in 1991.
"We took the fire truck by roading on the highway. So, it took us eight days to arrive to San Luis Potosi due to custom issues, not to driving issues, to custom issues. But finally, it made it, and the fire engine is still running," Hernandez said.
The Tulsa Fire Museum is at 1010 E Eighth St.
