The town of Johnston came to the rescue again.
Although there were overcast, cloudy skies and chilly temperatures outside the Johnston Fire Department headquarters the other day, people like House District 13 candidate Ramon Perez and Ana B. Quezada emphasized, with wide smiles on their faces: “The sun is shining much, much brighter than usual today in the Dominican Republic.”
That’s because for the second time since 2018, when Mayor Joseph Polisena donated two out-of-service fire trucks to Bani, a tiny village in the DR where firefighters are heroes but often don’t have the resources as they would like, he thrust his beloved town into the international spotlight once again by donating a reserve rescue to Arenoso, San Francisco de Marcoris, a city in the Dominican Republic.
“Arenoso is located in the northeast portion of the island in the Cibao region,” Quezada, a veteran Rhode Island state senator who serves District 2 in Providence, related. “It’s one of the rural areas where children have little or no access to social services. People lack access to basic services and that is a major health concern for families in the DR.”
Quezada paused while embracing Polisena and thanking the town as well as Johnston Fire Chief Peter Lamb for the extraordinary donation, and then added: “This ambulance will provide vital assistance to the whole community that is immersed in poverty. I personally would like to give thanks to the town of Johnston for making this possible and I know the community of Arenoso will be very grateful.”
Polisena added: “The men and women of the JFD have saved many lives with this rescue in Johnston; now it will continue to save lives in the Dominican Republic.”
Polisena was previously a Johnston firefighter who worked on many rescue missions before starting his political career. He currently serves as a part-time professor at the Community College of Rhode Island, where he teaches emergency management training courses. He said with excitement ringing in his voice, “As mayor I am challenging and encouraging other towns and cities around the state that have surplus equipment like this to do the same thing.”
Polisena explained that the recent donation came about after meeting with Quezada and Perez, who after winning a recent primary contest is seeking to represent District 13 – which includes Johnston and Providence – in the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s general election.
The mayor then said, “Ramon called me and asked if we could set up a meeting to discuss such a donation. This is all about caring and sharing … we get new vehicles ever two years or so and that’s how we can make these donations. This reserve rescue has plenty of life left and we’re honored to help a community that will now be able to save lives that otherwise would be lost.”
So, during a special ceremony when Polisena officially presented the keys to the 2005 Ford F-450, which was formerly named the JFD’s Rescue 6, Quezada, Perez and Providence City Councilwomen Carmen Castillo each took turns sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle with hands on the steering wheel and smiling from ear-to-ear. Each thanked the veteran Johnston mayor for what people who took part in the unique ceremony called a “life-saving donation filled with love and respect for people in Arenoso who don’t have nearly the valuable and special resources as the residents of Johnston.”
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