As of last weekend, Beauport Ambulance Service, Inc. is now providing ambulance services in Swampscott.
For the past ten years, Cataldo Atlantic Ambulance provided services to Swampscott and Marblehead. The company’s three-year contract, plus a one-year extension, expired at the end of June. Three new ambulances from Beauport are now serving the two towns.
We’re going to be able to ensure that these two towns get the coverage they need and not just be an ambulance company,” President and Owner John Morris told the Swampscott Tides. “The really great thing about these two fire departments is that they really have the best reputations around.”
Beauport Ambulance Service was founded in Gloucester in 1984. It was the first EMS provider on the North Shore to operate both an AED and a balloon pump. As of 2024, Beauport operates 18 ambulances, three non-transporting command and support vehicles, and 24 chair cars.
Swampscott and Marblehead’s contract with Beauport Ambulance Service is for the next three years. Morris told the Swampscott Tides the company had just 30 days to prepare: purchasing ambulances, stocking them, and hiring and training staff.
“It was a true testament to the employee base that I have,” Morris told the Swampscott.
The fleet includes one Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance and two Advanced Life Support (ALS) units, which build on BLS care with advanced interventions and procedures. A BLS ambulance works to maintain life functions until advanced medical care can be provided, while the ALS vehicles can work to stabilize critical patients who may be suffering life-threatening events, according to the American Red Cross training services.
“We have been welcomed into the two communities with open arms,” Morris said. “Most ambulances will put on the side of their trucks ‘proudly serving.’ We genuinely mean that.”
Morris said that while the three ambulances dedicated to Swampscott and Marblehead are usually sufficient, Beauport Ambulance Service’s 18 additional vehicles are available for backup when needed.
He said this helps ensure that every community member receives “the level of service they deserve.” Beauport Ambulance Service also has bases in Gloucester, Hamilton, Beverly, Danvers and Boston.
Morris, who sometimes works the ambulances himself, even recalled when his company was called to assist an elderly woman and carry her down a flight of stairs to her grandchild’s wedding.
“If it means that we’re the reason why a grandmother attends their grandchild’s wedding, that’s why we do what we do,” Morris told the Swampscott Tides. “I do this because I love being part of the communities. I love being able to help people.”
