From the South Orange Rescue Squad:
Accidents and illnesses happen without warning sometimes. Perhaps a loved one is having a heart attack. Perhaps your son cut himself while doing yard work and is having uncontrollable bleeding. Perhaps you have a fever and difficulty breathing and you need immediate emergency medical care, thinking it is COVID-19. Who do you call? If you live in South Orange, you call 911 and the EMT volunteers of the South Orange Rescue Squad will respond in one of their ambulances to assist you.
All of their members are volunteers, serving South Orange as our primary area and also responding to Maplewood, Newark, Orange, and West Orange when requested. They respond to scores of emergency calls a each week, routinely saving lives and reducing suffering with a quicker-than-industry standard response and application of EMT skills.
Their volunteer EMTs come from all walks of life. The approximately 30 members are teachers, administrators, health care workers, college students, retirees, public relations professionals, TV producers, and more. They have several high school students who serve as cadet members. They range in age from 16 to 75. What they all have in common is certification from the State of New Jersey as Emergency Medical Technicians, which means hundreds of hours of initial training and dozens of hours every year in additional training and skills competency, in many cases exceeding the requirements for ambulances around the state. The equipment they carry and protocols they follow are state-of-the-art and the South Orange Rescue Squad is known as one of the most progressive agencies in Essex County and the Region.
In 2020, being an EMT means you are also responding constantly to calls involving COVID-19. South Orange Rescue Squad volunteers potentially put their lives on the line on every call, donning protective gear and employing techniques to aid patients and reduce their suffering. Over the last eight weeks, the South Orange Rescue Squad has responded to hundreds of these calls and continues to do so. Unprecedented levels of funds have been spent on supplies to keep their equipment clean and the EMTs and patients safe.
Amazingly, they do it for free. None of the members are compensated for their time working or training. The squad does not bill for services; every call will not cost the patient a cent and they do not bill insurance either. Resident tax dollars do not support the squad. How is the squad able to afford the equipment, the ambulances, the station, and the supplies? The answer is: through generous donations of the residents and business in South Orange.
Letters for the South Orange Rescue Squad’s annual fund drive were recently sent out to all residents and business in South Orange. This is a troubled time in the country, state, and Village. Please show your support for your volunteer rescue squad and give generously. Now, more than ever, your financial support for our brave and dedicated volunteers are needed.
Checks can be mailed to the squad at: South Orange Rescue Squad, 62 Sloan St, South Orange NJ 07079 or you can go to www.southorangerescuesquad.org and click on donate to pay via credit card or Paypal.
This press release was submitted by Barry Bachenheimer, Training Officer for the South Orange Rescue Squad. Inquiries can be directed to bbachenheimer@southorangerescuesquad.org or called at 973-762-5647.
