It feels good to help others.

Lansford fire Chief Joseph Greco and pump operator Mark Kosica traveled to the Dominican Republic earlier this month with a group of 10 fire officials from around the region to help train firefighters on how to use the equipment a Hazleton firefighter has been working to send them.

The group, led by Hazleton Southside deputy fire Chief Brian Mandak, arrived in Santo Domingo on Jan. 18.

Over the next week, the men traveled to San Jose de Ocoa, Jarabacoa, Sabana Larga and Rancho Arriba, where they completed training courses for the firefighters of the province.

“We showed them how to use the donated turnout gear and larger hose lines,” Greco said. “When we were in Jarabacoa, we showed the firefighters how to use turnout gear, SCBA, readied their donated fire engine with hose lines and then showed them how to draft water from a creek.

“During our trip, we logged well over 1,000 miles going from community to community, and the hospitality displayed to us was incredible,” Greco added. “When out doing training, local people within the community — not firefighters — would stop and thank us for the assistance we were providing. It was a very heart whelming feeling. We learned a lot about the culture and was amazed at how these departments operate with little training, lack of equipment, while serving large populated areas.”

Greco illustrated the point, because municipalities around here have mutual aid agreements and multiple fire departments within the county.

He said the Jarabacoa province has a population of 65,000, is about 250 square miles in size and is served by only one firehouse.

“We hope they learned a lot from us to be more efficient, but we learned a lot from them,” he said.

The bond between San Jose de Ocoa and Hazleton started in 2011 when Jose Melo, a Hazleton volunteer firefighter and native of the Dominican Republic, approached Mandak and told him about the city’s need for a firetruck.

Mandak took it upon himself to get the ball rolling, and with the help of donations by the San Jose de Ocoa residents of Hazleton, purchased an engine from New York and sent it overseas.

Since then, Mandak has made it his mission to gather firefighting equipment, turnout gear, hose and even three more firetrucks from any fire department or institution willing to share and send it all over to San Jose de Ocoa.

He has also led training trips to the province, much like the one in January, to help train the men and women how to use the gear they are receiving from the area.

Greco said that equipment donations by area fire departments that they no longer use but is in good condition are always welcome.

If any fire department would like to donate any used equipment, they can contact Greco at lansfordfire@gmail.com or Mandak at brian83hfd@hotmail.com.