Southcoast Health, Wareham Police install helipad near Town Hall

A helipad has been installed just off Viking Drive near Town Hall to serve as an additional landing site for first responders other than the Tobey Hospital location.

The helipad was paid for by Southcoast Health who partnered with the Wareham Emergency Management department who was looking to put a helipad in the field at the former Decas school.

Emergency Management Department director Calib LaRue said the department conducts monthly active shooter drills in the building and the helipad would allow them to work with Boston MedFlight, a nonprofit that transports patients in critical condition via helicopter, more closely.

He also said the helipad would be used for real emergencies like active shooters, not just for drills.

But after construction at Saint Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford was damaged by a landing helicopter, their helipad was temporarily out of service last year. 

So emergency management and Southcoast health teamed up to get a helipad installed in Wareham to solve both party’s needs; a backup place for helicopters to land for Southcoast Health and a helipad, other than the one at Tobey Hospital, that first responders can fly into.

“It came to fruition because of our active shooter trainings, what happened at Saint Luke’s and it allows us to be as prepared as we can in case something happens,” LaRue said.

He added the location of the helipad on Viking Drive has several advantages. It provides first responders quick access to both the middle and high school and it is a more consistent landing location.

“Having two helipads within a quarter-mile to two of our three schools was a no-brainer for us because if something happens we can do rapid care and evacuation,” LaRue said. “Prior to this the emergency landing zone was actually the Town Hall parking lot which is always filled with cars.”

So far, the helipad has not been used but it is mostly complete and usable. But there is one “finishing touch” it still needs, the Wareham Viking logo drawn in the middle.

“We made up a 6 foot by 6 foot Viking and we partnered with the school department so we’re going to have the high school kids paint the mural in the center,” he said.