Michigan post goes on A.L.E.R.T. for local first responders 

In 2021, Leighr A. Wright American Legion Post 53 in Hillsdale, Mich., created a Mobile Canteen Unit as a way to support emergency response personnel during prolonged response times.

Del Kilbourne, vice commander of SSG Michael A. Dickinson II American Legion Post 257’s Sons of The American Legion squadron and the post’s American Legion Riders director, saw what Post 53 had done and wanted to duplicate the effort at Post 257. And thanks to support from the post, Kilbourne has been able to accomplish what he set out to do.

This month Post 257 launched its American Legion Emergency Response Team, more easily referred to as A.L.E.R.T. Comprised of former firefighters and other members of Post 257’s Legion Family, A.L.E.R.T. will provide relief to Calhoun County first responders attending to emergencies such as:

· Commercial, residential and forest fires.

· Missing persons search and rescue.

· Training events support.

·  Natural disasters.

·  Environmental hazard response.

·  Highway closures due to accidents.

·  Incident investigations.

Seeing what Post 53 had done “sparked an idea for me,” Kilbourne said. “I went to (Post 257 Commander Brian) Mohlman and said, ‘This is what I’d like to do, but on a bigger scale.’ That’s where it started off from.”

A.L.E.R.T. will bring a trailer to the site of emergencies and other areas where first responders are working that will provide them with a break from their duties. The trailer will provide either warmth or cooling, as well as comfort items such as water and other hydration, food, hygiene items and whatever else may be needed for the on-scene recovery and sustainment of first responders. Those involved in handling the emergency also will have the opportunity to have their vital signs checked in the trailer.  

“If you figure they’ve been on a major scene for hours or maybe days, there’s nothing there to get them warmed up, cooled off, check their blood pressure to make sure they’re not in distress,” Kilbourne said. “That’s what we’re doing here.”

While Kilbourne is guiding the program, he is receiving direct support and guidance from Post 257 members Joe Teixeira, a retired Springfield, Mich., Fire Department chief, and retired firefighter Jack Carlsen. Two other retired fire chiefs also are on the A.L.E.R.T. team. A first trailer was scheduled to get decals on it, while the post already has acquired a second trailer to convert over to what it needs for its mission.

Kilbourne said when Calhoun County fire department leadership heard about the plan, “It was crazy. It was, ‘when can you do this? What can we do to help you? And how soon can you be responsive?’ It was overwhelming, because I went in there apprehensive thinking I didn’t want to be in the way. Their reaction was, ‘We need you.’”

Kilbourne said he wanted to make A.L.E.R.T. happen at Post 257 in order to expand the community’s knowledge of what the American Legion Family is about and how it assists others.

“We’re community-driven and community-oriented,” Kilbourne said. “You give a veteran a mission and it’s completed. That’s what’s tactical in their brain with all their training: ‘You succeed at that mission.’”

For more information about A.L.E.R.T., go to its Facebook page or website.