María del Consuelo Díaz Tlaltempa is one of the first Mexican women to be accepted to be part of an official brigade of the National Forest Commission (Conafor, for its acronym in Spanish), and the first to enter an international brigade.
Originally from the state of Morelos, Consuelo Díaz complied with the international selection requirements and joined the third contingent sent to Canada to support this critical season of forest fires.
As part of her career, in late 2016, she attended the first Latin American Women’s Encounter in Forest Fire Management in Arizona, United States, in the company of the first official Conafor brigade composed exclusively of women.
In a statement, the Commission’s Fire Management manager, Alfredo Nolasco Morales, stated that this is an opportunity to achieve international standards on gender equality, through a selection of merit-based combatants.
In addition, he reported that in the official brigades of Mexico there are 16 women in the field who face the fire in the same way as their companions and, some more, they are part of the logistical activities of the program.
Nolasco Morales said that anyone has the opportunity to belong to brigades sent out of the country if he meets requirements such as physical fitness, travel documents, training, field experience, management of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Chain saw, Mark 3 motor pump and hose deployment.
Consuelo Diaz, along with 40 companions, left the day before the province of British Columbia in Canada, to join the 210 Mexican elements already in combat.
NTX/NGG/LCH/JCG
