A Gift to the Community

Long before paramedic Josh Toms joined Gold Cross Ambulance Service in Duluth, Minn., he knew the role, importance and challenges of first responders.

His parents, Mark and Brenda Toms, are longtime volunteer emergency responders in largely rural Fredenberg Township, about 20 minutes north of Duluth. At age 18, Josh completed training and joined them.

"When a pager went off, the house emptied," says Mark Toms, chief of the Fredenberg Volunteer Fire Department.

At car crashes and medical emergencies in the township, Fredenberg first responders have long worked side by side with paramedics from Gold Cross, part of Mayo Clinic Medical Transport. The Fredenberg team often arrives first, beginning treatment to stabilize patients until paramedics arrive.

The Fredenberg emergency response vehicle was a 1978 converted Air Force van. "It was definitely time to update," says Mark. But in a township of 1,400 people, finding the dollars to upgrade was nearly impossible.

Josh, who joined Gold Cross last year, alerted his dad to a possible solution. Each year, Gold Cross donates retired ambulances to first responders, schools or other organizations, with priority given to organizations in the areas Gold Cross serves. The donations are another way Gold Cross gives back to communities.

Josh put in a request for Fredenberg. After a six-month wait, Fredenberg's "new" emergency vehicle was ready to roll in November 2006, freshly painted and a fire department insignia on each door.

"It was a welcome gift," says Mark. In spite of tender-loving maintenance, Fredenberg's old emergency vehicle wouldn't always start.

In 2006, Gold Cross, with bases in 10 communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin, also donated vehicles to the American Red Cross, Southeast Minnesota Chapter, Rochester, Minn.; South Central College, Mankato, Minn.; and Midway Township First Responders, near Duluth.

In the last six years, Gold Cross has donated 33 well-maintained, used vehicles to first responders and schools. But the donation to the Fredenberg Volunteer Fire Department marked a first and a bit of a role reversal — a son handing over the keys to his dad.