Ambulance procession to travel to Podgwaite service on Sunday
November 2, 2022 | By Lisa ScagliottiUPDATE: This post was updated with information on watching the service online.
Image courtesy Waterbury Ambulance Service
An ambulance procession will assemble and begin in Waterbury on Sunday morning before heading to Norwich University in Northfield for the funeral service for Mark Podgwaite Sr.
The 60-year-old executive director of Waterbury Ambulance Service died unexpectedly on Oct. 14.
Podgwaite’s family and colleagues are making arrangements for ambulances from around the region to participate in the unique tribute starting at 9 a.m. from Farr’s Field on U.S. Route 2. Members of the Waterbury ambulance crew will be in dress uniform at the Waterbury fire station on Main Street to salute the procession as it passes by, according to Waterbury Ambulance Service Operations Administrator Maggie Burke-Greiner.
The Celebration of Life service is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Norwich University’s Plumley Armory.
In order for the Waterbury agency to have its members attend, Richmond Rescue and Morristown EMS will be covering calls, Burke-Greiner said. Richmond will answer morning calls, and Morristown in the afternoon. Community members who need to call 911 do not need to do anything out of the ordinary. The on-call agency will respond in place of a Waterbury ambulance. “It’s all set up through dispatch. No changes in response other than the town name on the truck,” she assured.
The ambulance procession route will be: Start from Farr’s Field down Rt. 2 to the roundabout, down Main Street, taking Rt. 2 south to Interstate 89 Middlesex Exit; traveling to the Montpelier Exit, then down Vermont Route 12 to Norwich University in Northfield.
Three Waterbury Ambulance vehicles will lead the procession:
Ambulance 1 with Burke-Greiner riding with Lawton Rutter, chief of Northfield Ambulance. Podgwaite lived in Northfield where he was also a member of the local ambulance service.
Waterbury Ambulance 2 with Sally Dillon and Dakota Metayer of the ambulance service trustees and volunteer boards respectively.
The Waterbury Ambulance Subaru with the agency’s COVID-19 Coordinator Zach Arvin and Crew Chief Tom Leeman.
A number of other vehicles from ambulance, fire and rescue services around the region are expected to participate. The procession will roll with lights on, no sirens, Burke-Greiner said.
Arrangements have been made for the service to be livestreamed via Zoom. Anyone wishing to watch online should send an email to Maggie Burke-Greiner at Maggie.burke@waterburyambulance.org to receive the link.