Their specialty is searching for victims under the debris of
collapsed buildings and giving
first aid. One of the group's original founders, Hector "El Chino" Méndez, states that one of the things that distinguish his group from others is that they have the "balls to go in where no one else will" (
huevos de entrar adonde los demás no quieren). the organization had an average of about forty members plus
search and rescue dogs which they train themselves. The group, along with the
Civil Protection Agency of Mexico, issues certificates and sponsors technical degrees in areas related to the field. The main group is in
Mexico City but there are branches in other parts of the country such as
Poza Rica,
Veracruz,
Cancún and
Chihuahua. The group maintains ties with the
International Rescue and Assistance League in France and the
United Firemen without Frontiers in Spain. It also has associates in the United States, El Salvador, Bolivia, Peru, Germany and Indonesia. Within Mexico, the group coordinates with social organizations and government agencies such as the
Secretary of the Navy, the
Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of the Interior. However, their longest association is with the government of Mexico City, whose professional ambulance corps along with the
Mexican Red Cross assisted with the initial training of rescue dogs. ==History==