Mass. Agency Unveils New Headquarters

June 02--WEYMOUTH -- Opioid deaths on the South Shore are on the rise, making Brewster Ambulance's moving of its headquarters from Boston to Weymouth especially welcome.

The number of opioid deaths in Norfolk and Plymouth counties rose from 344 in 2015 to 387 in 2016, according to the state.

Brewster, a private ambulance company, opened its new headquarters at 25 Main St. in Weymouth on Thursday evening. It says one of its missions is to train members of the public in recognizing and treating opioid overdoses.

"This is a unique opportunity, because regular members of the community will be able to receive training," said Scott Volz, one of the company's supervising paramedics.

The Brewster headquarters will host community classes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid and treatment of opioid overdoses.

"We train for the worst so our EMTs will be better prepared," said Johnathon Bobbitt-Miller, a Brewster Ambulance spokesman.

Brewster built the new, 35,000-square-foot headquarters on property it previously used for vehicle storage.

The company is the ambulance responder in local communities including Quincy, Braintree, Brockton, Plymouth, Middleboro and Taunton.

Weymouth is served by Fallon Ambulance. Its contract with the company runs through this month.

Brewster dispatchers will be using Smart911 software. Residents in the communities the company serves can sign up for Smart911 and create their own safety profiles containing information about themselves and other members of the household, and about the home, pets and vehicles.

When a resident makes an emergency call, the information automatically displays on the dispatcher's screen. Brewster says the information will allow dispatchers to determine the best EMT to send to an emergency.

Residents can sign up for Smart911 at smart911.com.

Mark Brewster, Brewster's CEO, said the company decided to move its headquarters to Weymouth largely because "we can get anywhere from here."

He said the location was simply too good to pass up.

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