Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad
History
[ 1970's | 1980's | 1990's | Today ]
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Before there was a Summit First Aid Squad...
Overlook Hospital had the first ambulance to serve Summit. This was established as a means of transporting the infirm to the hospital and occasionally used to return them home. The unit was staffed by the hospital security guard sometimes accompanied by an orderly. This unit was dispatched only at the request of a physician or the police. It was only transportation. No first aid of any kind was administered. In the 50's the Summit Fire Department purchased an ambulance which was staffed as needed by 2 firemen. Although they had very little in the way of first aid training, the firemen did their best to transport victims of accidents and sudden illness. This unit never had a dedicated crew, so firemen had to be pulled from an engine or truck to staff it. During a fire, this unit was generally not available. As a result, the Fire Department began to look for an alternative to providing this service.
By the mid 1950's most surrounding towns had first aid squads operated by volunteer organizations. Because neither the Fire Department nor Overlook's ambulance were reliably available on a 24-hour basis, the Summit Police began to request assistance from the Chatham Emergency Squad and Millburn-Short Hills First Aid Squad. In 1961, the Chatham and Millburn groups expressed their dismay at the number of calls to Summit. The City estimates that it would have to hire at least 3 additional full-time firemen in order to properly staff an ambulance.
The Beginning...
Two Summit women, Sis Barker and Betty Bangs, who were members of the Junior League (at the time the Junior League of the Morristown, Summit Unit) decided to start a First Aid Squad in Summit. With the blessing of the Junior League, they began their project and enlisted the help of a local Businessman, Michael J. Formichella. Mr. Formichella used his influence in the community to help organize the Squad. On July 28, 1962 the Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad, Inc. was formed.
Overlook Hospital donated it's old ambulance which the squad operated for a few months until it was able to purchase a new Cadillac ambulance. For the first 2 years, the ambulance was housed in a garage owned by Mike Formichella on Broad St. Members met and trained in their homes.
A building fund was organized to construct a headquarters for the new Squad. Overlook Hospital offered to donate a piece of land on Beavoir Ave. (the site of the current Emergency department entrance), but this site was deemed unusable due to the high cost of excavating the solid rock there. The City of Summit agreed to lease a piece of land on the Summit Ave. extension, across from the Junior High School (now the Middle School), to the Squad for $1.00 per year. Much of the work on the building including excavating, plumbing, heating and electrical was either donated or performed by volunteers. Among the charter members of the Squad were an excavator, Mike Formichella; a mason contractor, Andy Soccodato; and a heating contractor, Jim Burns. Construction was completed in 1964.
1978 Squad purchased a second truck style ambulance. There is no room at headquarters for all 3 units, so the remaining Cadillac is housed at the Fire House.
1980 The "Far Bay" addition to the Squad building allows all 3 ambulance to be housed in headquarters.
7/83 4 Squad members transport a Summit resident who is unable to fly from Ontario, Canada.
7/4/84 Squad softball team reaches the Mayors Trophy championship game, but looses to the Dept. of Public Works.
6/86 Squad purchases a second Braun long body ambulance and sells the last of the Cadillac ambulances to a collector.
7/12/86 A spectacular fire destroys the Masco Sports building on Broad St. and along with it, the garage that housed as the Squads first ambulance.
7/20/86 Squad sponsors a large drill on the soon to be opened route 78. 14 volunteer "victims" are transported by ambulances from Summit, Berkeley Heights, Millburn-Short Hills and Springfield.
Spring 1990 Squad purchases it's 3rd Braun ERV long body ambulance and now has a fleet of nearly identical vehicles. The old "Rig #2", a 1978 Yankee coach, is donated to the startup Quakertown Volunteer EMS in Huntderdon County.
1/92 Squad launches Industrial Membership program. 3 Squad members who are employees of Overlook Hospital are allowed to leave work to answer emergency calls.
4/92 City of Summit renews the lease of land to the Squad for another 20 years.
10/92 At the 1992 Overlook Hustle, the Summit First Aid Squad becomes one of the first in the state to provide EMS coverage with EMTs on bicycles.
1/93 Squad is kept busy during the Blizzard of '93. Several shifts sleep at headquarters.
9/93 Squad purchases it's first semi-automatic defibrillator.
11/93 First defibrillator save. The pastor of a local church was revived from cardiac arrest. He returned to his duties weeks later.
4/11/95 Squad responds with 3 ambulances and 17 mutual aid ambulances to a fire at Overlook Hospital.
5/17/95 Squad responds to 2 serious accidents and calls med-evac helicopter twice. All patients survived.
1/12/96 First Aid Squad was kept busy with 12 calls. Between 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. First Aid Squad volunteers responded 9 emergency calls in the City, 1 non-emergency transportation and 2 mutual aid emergency calls in Mountainside.
7/4/96 The First Aid Squad softball team plays in the annual Mayor's Trophy game for the first time in 11 years, but looses to the Summit Fire Dept.
9/13/96 Squad responds with 2 ambulances to a trench rescue incident at the site of the new home construction project on O'Shea Pl. in Summit. A trapped construction worker is freed and transported to an awaiting med-evac helicopter at Tatlock field.
1/15/97 The Fire first responder program, a joint effort of the Summit Fire Department and Summit First Aid Squad, is started as 1-year experiment.
2/7/97 The fire first responder program gets it's first real test. Firefighters start CPR and are relieved minutes later by Squad members who successfully revive the patient with a semi-automatic defibrillator.
6/97 Three Squad volunteers transported a local resident via ambulance to a long-term care facility in Vermont.
7/4/97 The Summit First Aid Squad softball team wins the "Mayor's Trophy" by defeating the Summit Fire Department.
8/2/97 Bike Team assists Police in a successful search for a missing person.
9/18/99 After dealing with the effects of Hurricane Floyd in Summit, squad members respond to assist with the disaster left by the storm in Bound Brook.
January 2000 The Summit Squad send 2 ambulance crews to a tragic dormitory fire at Seton Hall and treats the 2 most serious patients. 6 Summit First Aid volunteers receive an award for outstanding service.
May 2000 The Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad is selected by the State Department of Health and the State EMS Council as New Jersey's EMS Volunteer Agency of the Year.
9/11/2001 In the largest response in Squad history, 49 volunteers answer the call to mobilize for the World Trade Center attack. Hundreds of patients are evaluated and 64 decontaminated at the Summit train station. 2 Summit crews respond to New York and 2 more over the next 3 days. 19 members receive a citation for service at "ground zero". Ian Thompson, an active Squad member is lost in the attack.
1/2002 Squad membership surpasses 100 for the first time!
10/2002 Squad completes one of it's largest projects, distributing a Vial of Life kit to every household in the City.
7/4/2004 The Summit First Aid Squad softball team plays the Police Department and wins it's 2nd "Mayor's Trophy".
10/2005 The Summit First Aid Squad adds a 4th vehicle to it's fleet. "EMS 4" is funded through private grants and serves as a first response, scene support and incident command vehicle.
To report an emergency; Police, Fire or Medical, dial 9-1-1