Rafael Peralta has been a dedicated firefighter for the North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue for several years, but the Weehawken resident has another important role that is near and dear to his heart.
Peralta serves as the president of the Hispanic Firefighters and EMS Society of New Jersey, an organization that helps poverty-stricken nations who do not have proper firefighting and life-saving equipment by taking unused and unwanted apparatus and shipping it to Caribbean countries, like Peralta’s native Dominican Republic.
Since 1999, the Hispanic Firefighters and EMS Society has hunted down fire engines, ambulances, firefighting gear and emergency equipment from towns all over the state and delivered them to needy towns like Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
For the longest time, Peralta has been searching for an old ambulance that he could send to a needy medical clinic in Santo Domingo. Little did he know that he would literally find one in his own backyard.
“I have already sent one ambulance to the Dominican Republic, but I had been searching for another one for a little while now,” Peralta said. “I started looking around and then found out that there was one in Weehawken that might be available.”
Peralta contacted Weehawken Public Safety Director Jeff Welz and inquired about the Ford Frontline van that had been sitting idle in the township’s upper parking lot for a while.
“I knew that Ralph was involved with the organization and I figured that they might be able to use the old ambulance,” Welz said. “We weren’t using it anymore, but it still ran well and had all the necessary equipment on it. So we figured that since it wasn’t being used here, it could be put to use someplace else, a place where it is needed.”
So the township decided to donate the ambulance to Peralta’s group, in order so it can be shipped to the Dominican Republic.
The Township Council unanimously agreed to donate the ambulance to the cause.
“Within a month or two, it will be put into service down there,” Welz said. “Through Ralph’s organization, they teach the people in the Dominican Republic how to properly use the equipment. It’s a very good cause.”
“It’s always better when it’s put to good use,” said Peralta, who was one of those fighting the massive four-alarm fire on Park Avenue in Union City Wednesday evening. “I have to thank Director Welz for keeping me informed that there was a vehicle available. He pushed for it, because he knew that this is what I do. If I just ask, it doesn’t get anywhere. He’s the one who saw it through.”
So the ambulance will be transported via cargo ship in the coming weeks and will be headed directly to a medical clinic in Santo Domingo, a clinic that had no means of transportation before this donation.
Peralta said that he had just returned from an eight-day trip to the Dominican Republic, where his organization helped to train 14 different fire departments from the country about the proper techniques of fighting fires.
“A lot of these people go to fight fires wearing T-shirts and jeans, carrying buckets of water,” Peralta said. “We had firefighters from Jersey City and Elizabeth there along with me. They’re all receiving as much proper training as possible and we try to get there as often as possible.”
Peralta said that a fire pumper that his organization received from the North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue last summer has already helped to save the life of a 9-year-old girl in Consuelo in the Dominican Republic.
“It really is a tremendous feeling,” Peralta said. “It’s my way of giving back. Knowing what I can do can actually help someone and save someone makes all the work worth it.”