Rehab unit will respond to emergency locations
Special trailer provides care to responders at operation sites
BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer

The Gordons Corner Fire Company, Manalapan, has acquired a trailer, dubbed Rehab 1, that is filled with equipment that would be used to provide care and rehabilitation to personnel such as police officers and firefighters who are working at the scene of an emergency.

MANALAPAN - A recent equipment acquisition has the Gordons Corner Fire Company, Tennent Road, sitting on an emergency unit that will not only prove to be the continuing envy of other fire companies, but also a boon to those same agencies.

Rob DiTota, president of the Gordons Corner Fire Company in charge of fire company administration, discussed Fire Fighter Rehabilitation One (Rehab 1), a customized trailer that was acquired by the Manalapan Board of Fire Commissioners District 1 at a cost of $80,000 which included the utility truck that tows the unit.

DiTota said fire officials believed it was necessary to acquire the trailer because there was nothing like it anywhere that could be used in large-scale operations. He said although Rehab 1 belongs to the Gordons Corner Fire Company it has and will continue to be deployed anywhere in the state where its use is needed.

DiTota said Rehab 1 is used for largescale incidents of all types where first responders are on scene for long periods of time.

"Our guys go wherever it's needed," he said, explaining that Rehab 1 was deployed to Sea Girt last winter to the scene of a fire in a townhouse development, and has also responded to a situation in Manalapan that required a SWAT team's presence.

He said the unit will remain available to respond to any future emergencies.

Rehab 1 is about 24 feet long and 12 feet high and is towed behind a rack-body utility truck. The unit is stocked with emergency equipment such as cooling vests, cooling mist fans and an oxygen setup that is equipped to supply oxygen to more than 12 people at once. Rehab 1 is also stocked with items such as Gatorade, power bars, water and soup.

DiTota said Rehab 1 is powered by a gas-powered generator that is set up outside of the trailer. It has a canopy for outside shelter and a fold-out section that is used for additional inside care and rehabilitation. The unit has cots, tables and chairs.

According to DiTota, Rehab 1 is used to provide care and rehabilitation to first responders such as firefighters to ensure that they are physically and mentally sound before returning to work at an incident.

"Inside the unit we examine the first responders, replenish their fluids, check their oxygen and carbon dioxide saturation levels, provide them with oxygen and check their vital signs," he said. "We then determine when and if they can return to service at the incident. This is the first unit in our municipality and surrounding municipalities directly used for the onscene rehabilitation of first responders."

DiTota said Gordons Corner Fire Company Chief Lee Maksimik is in charge of the vehicle's deployment and operation. He said all of the firefighters who are certified to operate and man Rehab 1 are either certified first responders or emergency medical technicians.

Additionally, the personnel are state certified firefighters with other training such as Office of Homeland Security terrorist training, hazardous materials operations and/or incident command levels 1, 2 and 3.

Reiterating that Rehab 1 is provided by the Manalapan Board of Fire Commissioners District No. 1 and staffed and housed by the Gordons Corner Fire Company, DiTota remarked on the continued deployment planned for Rehab 1 saying, "This unit is primarily used in Manalapan. It can be deployed to any other municipality it is requested to by a fire officer, county Office of Emergency Management official, police department or state agency."