Have you ever stopped to think about volunteer firefighters and first responders called to the scene of tragic incidents, accidents, and other emergency situations and the speed with which they are expected to respond to their jobs? While you and I might cavalierly swing by a coffee shop or convenience store on the way to work for a cup of coffee or a bottle of water, in tragic times there’s simply no way for people in those roles to “stop on the way.”
When you consider that some of these emergency response personnel are required to be on the scene for extended periods of times in oft times decidedly inhospitable conditions, you have to wonder who’s taking care of them when they’re taking care of us.
There’s a team of concerned folks at Trinity Lutheran Church with a lot of heart for first responders and now they have HART for them as well. HART stands for Helping Area Response Teams. It is a volunteer nonprofit group with one goal — To provide on-scene resources and assistance to public servants in emergency situations. They offer relief and nourishment to first responders on the job.
The new HART of Berrien County is a developing service or ministry from Trinity Lutheran Church of Berrien Springs. It’s a new service to Berrien County, and they’re just about to begin sending their converted ambulance out to fire and other emergency calls in the region. The vehicle will go to fires and other first responder emergencies expressly to provide support and relief to those first responders and emergency workers.
Especially in the case of volunteer firefighters, they have no warning—they have to respond immediately, and can’t just stop to buy a bottle of water or a snack en route. Worse yet, in the case of a larger fire or emergency situation, they may be on scene for hours with no breaks. The team at HART is meant to provide relief, drinks, snacks, hand washing, and an on-scene shelter to simply take a break.
You could almost call the brainchild for the vehicle Divine Intervention! It seems that Pastor Douglas Adams of Trinity Lutheran Church in Berrien Springs was at a Pastor’s conference, and was sharing news of the flooding that had occurred last year in Berrien Springs. Fellow Missouri Synod Pastor Larry Courson was there, and described their successful HART Ministry in Washtenaw County—how it could respond to such an emergency. He also shared the news that they had just received a newer retired ambulance, and they were willing to give their current HART truck to Trinity Lutheran in Berrien Springs.
As Pastor Adams recalls it, the question was posed, “How would you like an Ambulance?” He felt that this was the type of community service that Trinity could and should offer, and thus the Berrien HART team was born.
HART Berrien County is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides on-site support services to emergency responders in Berrien County. Every day emergency responders put their lives at risk. Though the inherent dangers of their jobs are well known, extreme situations cause stress and fatigue that can jeopardize their safety and the well-being of those depending on them. By providing basic conveniences such as snacks, water, and a warm place to rest, HART reduces the risk of injury and improves the morale of local emergency responders.
HART Huron Valley was established in November of 2014. The program’s formation was made possible by support from the Washtenaw County Mutual Aid Association (WAMAA) and Peace Lutheran Church, who managed the program until it became in independent nonprofit in 2016.
Now, thanks to the generous donation of a retired ambulance from Huron Valley Ambulance, HART of Berrien County is equipped with an outfitted vehicle that can arrive at the scene of a call to provide much needed services to emergency responders.
The HART program relies on the support of sponsors, community members, and volunteers to serve and assist those who work to keep the community safe. The new coordinator of the local program is Troy Marske from Trinity Berrien Springs, and he has been responsible for gathering supplies, servicing the unit, and finding volunteers to take it on emergency runs.
The new-to-Berrien vehicle is being graciously housed at Shadow Trailer World in Berrien Springs.
