The Ashburnham Firefighters Association will be presented the Seven-Seals Award from the Department of Defense for its efforts in acquiring a fully equipped ambulance that will be shipped to Afghanistan within the next few months.

At 11 a.m. Aug. 12, the Massachusetts Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an agency of the Defense Department, will present the award to the firefighters association at Town Hall.

Fire Chief Paul J. Zbikowski said the association worked to obtain the ambulance per the request of Town Administrator Kevin E. Paicos. Mr. Paicos served as a medic in the National Guard special forces for almost a year on a firebase in south central Afghanistan.

Mr. Paicos, 54, would treat about 600 to 800 people a week, Chief Zbikowski said, and there are few medical facilities in the region, which has a population of 350,000 to 400,000. It is in the Farah province near the Iranian border in the south and the Helmand province in the east.

He said Mr. Paicos would always request donations for Afghan children and families, including movies, candy and educational materials, and asked if people could send over an ambulance. Mr. Paicos was treating a 12-year-old boy who was hit by a national army truck and was seriously injured, he said. Mr. Paicos stabilized and treated the boy, who had to be transported for further treatment in the back of an old truck, he said.

"Kevin said, `You know, things are pretty poor here. They have nothing,'" Chief Zbikowski said. "He said the Taliban had gone through a few years before and wiped the place out."

Mr. Paicos said the incident underscored the lack of a decent way to transport people who need medical care.

Mr. Paicos said he told Chief Zbikwoski he knew the idea sounded insane, but asked if there was any way to get an ambulance shipped to Afghanistan.

"I know cities and towns trade them in every two or three years," he said. "So the chief went on a quest, which is the way he is. God bless him. It is just incredible."

He said the vehicle, worth about $70,000, will show Afghan people that Americans do care about their success and their ability to live in peace.

"When it arrives, the Afghan official that accepts it will be told that this is a gift from the American people, not from the American government, and it will be seen as more sincere," he said.

Chief Zbikowski said the 1983 ambulance and supplies, including backboards, gauze and bandages, were paid for through donations made to the Ashburnham Firefighters Association and were bought from Fire District 14 on the North Shore.

He said the emergency vehicle was used as a backup and has fairly low mileage on it.

He said he believes this is the first time an ambulance has been shipped to Afghanistan from the United States.

Another aspect of the project is ensuring the vehicle can be maintained once it arrives in Afghanistan, Chief Zbikowski said.

"We want to make sure that if two months down the road a water pump goes, it won't be sitting there unused," he said. "There are no parts stores in that part of the country."

Donated parts and supplies to stock the ambulance will also be shipped, including suspension parts, which will get the most wear and tear in the area's terrain, he said. Six spare tires and wheels and a generator will also be shipped, but more is needed.

Chief Zbikowski said the firefighters hope to ship the ambulance before September, when there will be a change in the provincial reconstruction team.

"The group that is there now knows it is coming and is waiting for it," he said.

The paperwork for shipment is complete and is going to an inspector, he said. The ambulance will then be shipped to an air base in South Carolina, then to Kabul, Afghanistan, by jet, then flown by a smaller plane to an airstrip in the Farah province, he said.

The offices of U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, have also been helpful, he said.

Anyone wishing to donate parts, supplies or money to buy needed items can send the donations to Ashburnham Firefighters Association, 12 Memorial Drive, Ashburnham, MA 01430. Items can also be dropped off at the station, at 12 Memorial Drive.