After decades away from emergency medical service, Robert Bianchi returned to the South Orange Rescue Squad at age 60 after rediscovering two old EMT patches in a memory box his late mother had saved for him.
“When I turned 60, I wanted to reclaim something I had left behind,” Bianchi said.
Bianchi had originally volunteered with the rescue squad in the 1980s before stepping away to focus on his legal career as an assistant prosecutor. Years later, after achieving many of his career goals, he began reflecting on his past life and what was next.
While conversing with his father, Bianchi learned that his mother, who died over 20 years ago, left a memory box containing some of his belongings from different periods of his life. Bianchi found two EMT patches on the top of the box.
“It hit me like a lightning bolt. That’s what I needed to reclaim.” Bianchi began an EMT training course within a month to re-certify. Bianchi went back to the South Orange Rescue Squad.
Coming back after more than three decades away meant stepping into a completely different environment.
“I came back to a different building, a different place, and a different mindset as an older person,” Bianchi said.
Emergency medical care has advanced significantly since he first volunteered. The training requirements are more demanding, and EMTs now use tools and treatments that did not exist decades ago, including automated defibrillators, epinephrine injectors for allergic reactions, and specialized machines that assist with CPR.
Still, the heart of the work remains the same: helping people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
Bianchi recalled responding to a cardiac arrest call where the team used a defibrillator to revive a man who was talking again by the time they reached the hospital. But for him, another call that same day left just as strong an impression.
Shortly afterward, the squad responded to help an elderly man who had fallen and injured his head.
“That call was just as powerful,” Bianchi said. “It doesn’t have to be dramatic. Sometimes someone is just scared and needs reassurance that everything is going to be okay.”
Jeff Hark, who has volunteered with the SORSS for about 20 years (and has volunteered 50 years overall multiple squads including 15 years with Maplewood First Aid Squad when they were active), said helping others is what keeps many volunteers coming back.
“It gets into your blood,” Hark said. “Once you start, you kind of have a need to help people.”
Hark said emergency medical services have evolved dramatically over the decades, with far more advanced training and equipment available to volunteers today.
“When I started, people were mostly trained in Red Cross first aid,” he said. “Now we’re doing things that some emergency room doctors do.”
Despite those changes, he said the core mission remains constant.
“When we show up at someone’s house, it’s usually one of the worst days of their life,” Hark said. “Our job is to show them that we know what we’re doing and help make that moment better.”
South Orange Rescue Squad President Nik Engineer said senior volunteers bring valuable experience and perspective to the organization.
“Our senior volunteers play a critical role at the rescue squad,” Engineer said. “They often have decades of experience as EMTs, meaning they can apply exceptional judgment and proven skills when helping patients and training newer members.”
Engineer added that volunteers like Hark and Bianchi also bring important life experience that helps them connect with patients.
“Our squad is as diverse as the communities we serve, so it’s important to have members who can relate to patients from all backgrounds and life stages,” Engineer said.
He said volunteering can also provide meaningful benefits for the volunteers themselves.
“Staying mentally and physically active is important at all stages of life,” Engineer said. “Volunteering as an EMT is physically and mentally demanding and offers a rich array of experiences.”
For Bianchi, returning to the rescue squad has also brought a sense of personal meaning.
“This is different from the other things I’ve done,” he said. “This is pure. This is for everyone else.”
He said volunteering has brought him a sense of purpose and fulfillment at this stage of his life.
“It’s about knowing that you’re helping people,” Bianchi said.
Bianchi hopes his story encourages others to consider volunteering.
“I think it’s life-changing,” he said. “Especially for people my age. Don’t think you can do it? You can. Helping other people makes you proud of what you’re doing.”
