A vital gift from Plymouth to Africa

PLYMOUTH - The cry for help came from across the world and landed on the doorstep of America’s Hometown. Guinea-Bissau, a poor West African nation of 1.4 million people, needed a fire truck.

Today at the Cedarville fire station, the country’s Fire Chief Malam Djaura will receive the keys to two used but functional fire trucks and one ambulance, thanks to some help from two South Shore towns and a few individuals.

Plymouth firefighters will train Djaura to operate the trucks before they are taken to New Jersey for shipment overseas to Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister Aristide Gomes several months ago pleaded for a fire truck after a fire destroyed the country’s marketplace. Plymouth resident David Applefield, a reporter for the Financial Times in Guinea-Bissau, heard the plea and wanted to help.

He called his father, Jerry Applefield, who in turn called his state Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, to see if Plymouth could help.

‘‘I’m a big fan of leaning on our leaders,’’ Jerry Applefield said.

The marketplace fire caused $4 million in damages in a nation where the average annual wage is $800.

A working fire truck would make all the difference.

Guinea-Bissau residents joke that their firefighters race to a blaze without water, according to IRINnews.org, a United Nations humanitarian news and information service.

Djaura says the department has a dozen battered engines, but only one that starts up and then only on the third try. He says his men lack protective clothing, rescue equipment and phone lines, and are owed months in back wages.

Firefighters had to stand and watch helplessly as the country’s marketplace and hospital’s emergency generator burned down this spring, according to a June 2006 story on IRINnews.

Guinea-Bissau used to have a fine fire service with shiny trucks and nice uniforms, but infrastructure has been in a steady decline since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1974 and subsequent years of political unrest, according to IRIN.

The country’s plight struck a chord with Vinny deMacedo and his brother Olavo deMacedo, both immigrants from Cape Verde, a West African island nation just off the coast of Guinea-Bissau.

‘‘It was a Portuguese colony, just like Cape Verde,’’ Olavo deMacedo said. ‘‘We speak the same language. I thought it would be great if we could help.’’

The two, along with State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, searched for months and finally found a used, but working, fire truck for the country.

Olavo deMacedo bought the truck, Hanson Fire Chief Al Hoyt donated hoses and Plymouth Fire Chief James Pierson rummaged through department closets yesterday afternoon looking for connectors and other pieces of equipment to make the truck fully operational.

Applefield bought the other truck and ambulance with a humanitarian fund he established.

Olavo deMacedo had one of the trucks lettered and decorated with Guinea-Bissau’s flag.

Vinny deMacedo is pleased to see everything come together after months of work.

‘‘It’s just amazing,’’ he said.

Applefield was moved by the response.

‘‘It’s complicated,’’ Applefield said. ‘‘Much more so than I thought. But it’s reassuring that a couple of individuals and a small town can make a difference in the world. It’s a significant symbol to this small nation that a town in Massachusetts cares.’’

Tamara Race can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By TAMARA RACE - The Patriot Ledger