Polisena urges Providence to follow suit with rescue vehicle donation

The challenge is on.

The first came from Mayor Joseph Polisena, who as the town of Johnston’s long-serving top elected official has tackled numerous obstacles.

Ramon Perez, state representative-elect in District 13 representing Johnston and Providence, is no stranger to unique challenges, losing his seat two years ago before recently winning it back during Tuesday’s election.

However, the challenges Polisena and Perez issued last Thursday morning inside the Johnston Fire Department headquarters on Atwood Avenue – via support from local and state officials – had a more wide-ranging effect.

Polisena hosted what many people called “another historic international moment” inside the JFD headquarters, as a driving rain forced the special ceremony inside.

Just four days after announcing the town of Johnston was donating a reserve rescue to the community of Arenoso, San Francisco de Marcois in the Dominican Republic, Polisena presented Perez the keys to the one-time JFD Rescue 6 and immediately challenged city and town officials in Rhode Island to follow suit.

“I strongly urge my colleagues throughout the state who have surplus or out-of-service vehicles to make the same sort of donation that will be graciously received but more important will save many lives just like this rescue has done in Johnston,” Polisena went on. “The men and women of the JFD have had many live-saving missions with this and she’s got plenty of life left in her to do the same thing for people in the Dominican Republic whose lives would otherwise be lost.”

Polisena credited Perez with spearheading the proposal that began with a meeting and later resulted in the special project that was the second such donation Johnston has made to a Dominican Republic community since 2018. The mayor issued a direct challenge to Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza for “the city to donate or offer reserve or non-used fire apparatus to villages like Arenoso,” which is located in the northeast portion of the island in the Cibao region of the DR.

Likewise, state Sen. Ana B. Quezada and Providence City Councilwoman Carmen Castillo also spoke during the ceremony and urged Elorza to participate in the international program while stressing that similar vehicles will be valuable resources in the rural areas that have limited or little access to life-saving equipment and that is a major health concern, especially for young children.

Quezada and Castillo, who addressed an audience of Johnston firefighters, Chief Peter Lamb and Town Council members, were ecstatic during their remarks each thanking Polisena and “the town of Johnston for this heartwarming donation.”