Each September, the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club honors the sacrifices of local “Hometown Heroes” with a dinner honoring their service. The event began in 2002, a year after New York City’s “Hometown Heroes” worked to save the lives of those threatened by the 9/11 acts of terrorism.

The Rotary held its 14th local “Hometown Heroes” dinner on Sept. 8, honoring Boothbay peninsula first responders. About 80 people who volunteer in local fire departments, work for the Boothbay Harbor police or Lincoln County Sheriff departments, Lincoln County E-911 workers, Coast Guard and harbor masters joined local Rotarians in the celebration held in the Boothbay Harbor Rotary clubhouse.

Boothbay Region Ambulance Service Chairman Robbie Ham was the guest speaker. Ham has served as the BRAS chairman since 2001. He became involved in the BRAS as a high school junior. Ham took an emergency medical technician course in 1988 and over the years he worked his way through the organization. Rotarians Daren and Debbie Graves — who have organized the event for the past 11 years — selected him as this year’s speaker.

“I think this is wonderful how the Rotary pays respect to what we do,” Ham said. “I also want to applaud all of you here tonight who hear a funny noise beside your nightstand in the middle of the night and then disappear for hours at a time responding to an emergency.”

During his remarks, Ham provided a brief history of the BRAS, which began in 1976 as an all-volunteer organization and expanded into an operation with several full-time employees. He also spoke about the BRAS’s expansion into a new headquarters.

By February 2017, the BRAS expects to move into the new $1.65 million facility. Local businessman Paul Coulombe provided the financing for the 8,300-square-foot complex, which is twice the size of the current one.

The new building’s living quarters will be larger than the current 4,100-square-foot headquarters, according to Ham. Coulombe and The Knickerbocker Group became interested in swapping land to further their plans to redesign Route 27 traffic along the Boothay Common with a roundabout. In November, Boothbay residents will vote on whether to participate in the roundabout funding.

“I’m going to stay far away from the politics,” Ham said. “What began with the Knickerbocker Group as a discussion about a land swap resulted in talking about our future plans. They worked with us on the design and our needs to build a new station resulting in the donation for a new headquarters.”

The new building’s wall panels, roof trusses and wooden structures will arrive later this month. The BRAS expects to move into the new building in February.

In recent years, the BRAS has expanded its services into paramedicine, in which technicians attend to patients in a non-emergency call. The BRAS receives various grants to provide these services.

“This is the biggest thing we like to hang our hat on. It’s a level of care that gets us more familiar with the community and the community familiar with us. This is meeting a real need,” Ham said.

During the question and answer period, Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Bob Hasch complimented the BRAS for its paramedicine calls. The chief appreciated having experienced medical people on hand when local public safety officials made a wellness visit.

“During a safety check it’s fantastic to have somebody with some brains on scene,” he said. “When somebody is really sick and needs help. The EMTs are taking the place of when a doctor came to the home. I just wanted to put in a plug for them.”

Ham hopes more paramedicine services become available in the future through state and federal programs and not just from grants.

The event concluded with a donation from the Hometown Heroes Fund to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. Daren Graves presented a check to Boothbay Harbor Police Department administrative assistant Maureen Smith and Chief Deputy Ken Mason of the sheriff’s department, for the Heidi Fund. The donation will be used to train more dogs for the sheriff’s department’s police dog program.