LYNN — Cataldo Ambulance Service opened its North Shore fleet operations center in the city on Tuesday morning, expanding its Lynn base to more than 10,000 square feet.
The new facility was celebrated during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was attended by Cataldo Ambulance representatives, Mayor Thomas M. McGee, Fire Chief Stephen Archer and Lt. Joseph Zukas, and fire and police chiefs from neighboring communities.
Cataldo plans to begin servicing vehicles this week in the new space, which hosts a garage with three rotary lifts to assist in that service.
The company has owned the building at the Stetson Street location for years, but spent the last six months renovating the garage — which was previously used for storage — to be used as a maintenance center.
Cataldo Chief Executive Officer Dennis Cataldo said this was a project the company has been trying to accomplish for a while, adding that a lot of planning and work went into making the center spacious and operable.
“We are very thankful to everybody in the city of Lynn for supporting us and helping us through the permitting process so we could establish this new maintenance facility,” Cataldo said. “We are super proud of this facility.”
Cataldo said the center is a great addition to the company, which was started by his parents 43 years ago and has expanded to serve 17 communities throughout Greater Boston and the North Shore area.
“We continue to try and move the ball in the right direction on all fronts,” Cataldo said.
Cataldo’s North Shore Division vehicles to be serviced at the Lynn location consist of ambulances, wheelchair vans and buses and smart care vehicles.
Cataldo said their smart care vehicles — which offer at-home services — have seen a spike in use during the pandemic, since there has been a significant transition toward offering at-home paramedic services as a means to avoid hospital visits. He said these mobile-integrated health vehicles see about 1,000 patients per month and have the ability to do invasive procedures.
Cataldo’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said the company now has 11 smart care vehicles, being one of only two companies in the state licensed to offer this type of service.
In addition to the smart care vehicles, the new fleet operations center will also provide services to the company’s recently-acquired Tango-2 vehicle. This truck goes to the scene of a fire or major incident to provide support for firefighters and emergency personnel with oxygen, food and water, towels and whatever else is needed.
Cataldo said the company’s chief mechanic, Doug McCall, spent time outfitting the Tango-2 vehicle to create within it a communications platform and to sustain the materials needed to provide support on scene.
“That rehabbed truck can stay on scene for 12 hours,” Cataldo said. “It’s the only one like it in the state.”
McGee said this center is an important way to support all of the first responders who have worked through the past 18 months of the pandemic. During the ceremony, he presented Cataldo Ambulance Service with an official citation, welcoming the center to the community.
“These people stood up from day one and went into homes when we weren’t sure what was happening during COVID-19,” McGee said. “It’s a beautiful facility. It’s great to see that the vehicles that help our community will be serviced in a state-of-the-art facility.”
