01907 Spring 2020 V3--email

SPRING 2020 | 29
wampscott native Roger
Baker became enamoured
with the fire service
industry at a young age.
As a kid, he would hang
around both Swampscott
fire stations (the Phillips
Beach Fire Station on Phillips Avenue
is now closed) befriending firefighters
and running errands for the department.
When fires broke out, he would load his
bicycle's basket with water, which he
would deliver to crews on scene.
Baker, 54, wanted to become a
firefighter himself. He earned a degree
in fire science from North Shore
Community College and took the
Municipal Firefighter Exam in the
1980s, but his dream never came to
fruition.
Not to be deterred, Baker instead
made a career out of assisting firefighters
at fire scenes, expanding on the work
that he started as a child.
"I'm happy with what I'm doing now,"
said Baker. "I've seen more fires than I
would have if I had been a firefighter. I
have been to every single (major) fire in
the 21 towns that we cover since 1986.
When I think about that myself, it's kind
of crazy to think about."
In 1986, he converted a used
ambulance to a canteen truck at the
suggestion of a firefighter and began
providing cool drinks and soup to
provide relief for exhausted crews at fire
scenes.
A few years later, the nonprofit,
Rehab Five, which Baker operates out
of his Peabody home, was officially
established. The organization's purpose
is to provide firefighters and other
emergency workers with rehabilitation
services.
The need became more prominent
in the 1980s, when there was a
fundamental shift in the protective gear
that firefighters wore. While the new
gear provided more thermal protection,
it completely encapsulated the wearer,
not allowing for the escape of core body
heat. The former gear had been more
lightweight and breathable.
"The gear is so good that it's
preventing them from losing body heat,"
said Baker. "All of a sudden, rehab
became something they're talking about."
Baker and his volunteers set up
rehabilitation centers at fire scenes to
help firefighters cool down. In warmer
weather, cooling tents equipped with
misting fans are set up, and Gatorade
and water is provided. In the wintertime,
a bus is converted to get firefighters out
of the cold weather, and coffee and hot
chocolate is served.
The idea is to get their core body
temperature to come down, so they can
get back to fighting the fire. Medical
services are also provided, Baker said.
Rehab Five's services are completely
voluntary, which Baker pays for with the
salary he earns working for his father's
polymer factory in Lawrence.
"I consider it a hobby," said Baker.
"I like doing it. Other people may want
to spend their money on vacations,
sailboats or sports cars. I've somehow
found my calling doing this and enjoy
doing it so that's where my disposable
income goes."
The organization not only gets its
name from the rehab services provided
to firefighters, but from the mutual aid
system that ensures fire departments
receive backup assistance from other
departments. The system is divided into
districts. District 5 includes Swampscott,
Saugus, Peabody, Lynnfield, Marblehead
and Nahant.
Baker estimates he and his 20
volunteers respond to about 130 fires
annually, but some have been particularly
memorable. He recalls spending
three weeks at the scene of a Danvers
explosion in November 2006.
Rehab Five responds to most working
fires and every second alarm fire. Now
based more centrally in Peabody, Baker
said he can get to most fires in 15 to 20
minutes.
Firefighters are grateful for the
services provided by Rehab Five.
"Those guys are great," said
Swampscott Fire Chief Graham Archer.
"They're just always there — day or
night, in the winter, or in the summer.
Anything you would need in a difficult
situation, they're there to make it easier.
I can't say enough about those guys.
They're amazing."
Baker recently got his website, www.
rehabfive.org, up and running and he has
no intention of slowing down anytime
soon.
"I don't see myself being able to listen
to the calls on the radio and not go," said
Baker. "Until my health gives out, I'll be
doing it."