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Mobile Rehab/Canteen Service
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A-10 |
A-11 |
In addition
to operating the Boston Fire Museum, one of the most
important community services The Boston Sparks
Association, Inc. offers is the mobile Rehab/Canteen
service provided by our response vehicles A-10
and A-11.
A-10 and
A-11 are equipped to support a multitude of
Rehab/Canteen type incidents with the equipment
carried on board.
(View
equipment list here)
A-10
is a 1997 International/Horton former ambulance
converted to operate as a rehab/canteen vehicle.
A-11
is a 2001 Ford Expedition outfitted to provide
equipment and supply delivery support to A-10 in the
field.
The Boston
Sparks Association has provided canteen and now
rehab service to the Metro Boston area since 1960.
We have extensive experience in this area with many
thousands of hours of volunteer time devoted to the
care and comfort of the public safety workers in our
area. All of this at no charge to these agencies and
its members.
 We
will respond to any request for service from any
public safety agency. We have a predetermined
response area that results in our automatic response
within the Metrofire
District but remain available for any emergency that
we can provide assistance at.
The Boston
Sparks Association and A-10 have been recognized for
our services by the Professional Firefighters of
Massachusetts, The Boston Firefighters Local 718 and
The Massachusetts State Police among other groups.
The services
of A-10 can be requested through Boston
Fire/Metrofire by calling 617-343-2880 or via the
Metrofire Radio System.
Our mission
is to offer experienced rehab/canteen support and
assistance to the public safety agencies involved in
the incident mitigation.
We have
established an extensive repore and collaboration
with the departments and agencies we work with and
have a great working relationship with other
emergency response groups such as Rehab 5, The
Providence Canteen, Boston EMS, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Cataldo Ambulance, Professional Ambulance and
Armstrong Ambulance among others.
One of the
incident support situations that distinguishes us
from others is the support we offer to agencies with
critical needs during a line of duty funeral. A-10
has provided rehab and logistical support to many
agencies during these difficult times including many
area fire departments and the Massachusetts State
Police who have been tasked with rehab support for
these large scale events. A-10 crews have worked
successfully to provide logistical support for the
serving of thousands who attend these funerals
sometimes in the heat of the summer or the cold of
winter, providing rehab and comfort during these
large gatherings. Although this service is rendered
not in an urgent climate it is none the less as
important to maintain proper hydration and care to
those who come to pay their respects.
 In
addition to the rehab, hydration and simple snacks
provided during the many short duration incidents we
also provide more substantive food stuffs during
prolonged events. Among the examples of the long
term support we have provided are servings
consisting of bag lunch style food for 175
firefighters, police officers, MBTA Personnel and
emergency workers during the unfortunate Green Line
Train Derailment in Newton. We were on scene for
over 8 hours at this incident.
Another
recent incident was the January 2010 six alarm
apartment house fire in Malden where we initially
started with hot chocolate, coffee and donuts and
progressed to serving over 50 Pizzas, and 100
hamburgers donated by local businesses as the
incident duration lengthened. A-10 operated for over
6 hours at this incident.
 A-10
and its crews take the initiative to foresee the
event duration and its possible effect on the
firefighters operating at these incidents and work
to see that these issues are addressed and handled
so that the incident commander can focus on the task
at hand.
We maintain
an in house stock of over 30 cases of water, 25
cases of Gatorade, various snacks, edibles, clean
towels and incident support equipment in our
quarters at 344 Congress St., the former fire
station of Engine 39 and Ladder 18 located in the
Fort Point Channel section of South Boston. In
addition we have the in house capacity to make 400
pounds of ice per day and we stock 20 ten pound bags
of ice in our freezer for immediate use. We respond
out the door with 4 cases of water and 4 cases of
Gatorade pre-cooled for use right away upon our
arrival at a scene.
The
volunteer members of A-10 and A-11 consist of active
and retired fighters, EMT’s/Paramedics and all have
attended formal EMS/Rehab training and are
comfortable at an emergency scene.
 The
Boston Sparks Association receives donations from
individuals, corporate entities as well as other
nonprofits and these donations are greatly
appreciated. Our entire operating budget is formed
from donations from generous benefactors. We receive
no financial support from the City of Boston or any
other municipal agency.
Some of our
most ardent benefactors are the local fire
department unions who have supported us over the
years with generous donations to support our mission
of “Serving those who Serve Us”.
Donations and
Support
As the
Boston Sparks Association is a nonprofit 501 C (3)
corporation all donations are tax deductible and
very much appreciated.
If you
have items such as this and would like to donate to
this worthy cause please contact us at 617-338-9700
or via e-mail and we will arrange pick up.
If you
would like to make a monetary donation to our
association please feel free to use the Pay-Pal link
on our site or by US Mail and we thank you for your
support!
How Boston Sparks acquired A10 (the original)
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