Caption (mouse over)
The PFAS has vacated its building and turned it over to Pennington Borough. The vacant lot was indentured from the Borough in 1966 for $1 and returned to the Borough with >$600,000 in improvements. The ambulances and equipment have been donated to local volunteer first aid squads and fire companies and to the Mercer County Community College EMT training. Records have been turned over to Hopewell Valley Historical Society. We are working with them to make our history available.
Mail may be sent to PFAS at 16 Academy Ct, Pennington, NJ 08534 and we can be reached by email at . Use mail or email to reach us for legal requests for patient care information. Fax and phone service have been discontinued.
This website will be maintained indefinitely.
PFAS has continued to support local charities including $50k donations to the Pennington YMCA food pantry in 2023 and 2024. The operation is amazing in all the pieces woven together to provide a service that has proven to be most needed. The number of volunteers working together in getting food to those in need speaks well of all involved. PFAS is glad that we could support the work.
Michelle Doherty (pantry volunteer), Claire Smith (pantry volunteer), Joan Schwarzwalder (PFAS & pantry volunteer), Joe Lawver (pantry volunteer), Neal Blackwell (PFAS), Sara Kuwar (PFAS), Naomi McCarty (PFAS), Tom Finn (YMCA volunteer, Board Co-Chair), Annemarie Hofacker (YMCA volunteer, Board Co-Chair), Maude Tatar (pantry volunteer), Angela Jacobs (pantry volunteer), Mona Patel (pantry volunteer), Doug Pszczolkowski (YMCA CEO, pantry volunteer), Kirk Schmitt (PFAS)
It is with sadness that the Pennington First Aid Squad informs its members of the loss of their friend and colleague, Robert Wilson, March 13, 2023. Bob was an early PFAS member with dispatcher number 12 of 741. He was active in the sixties and seventies. He was PFAS President 1966, 1967 and 1969 and Trustee in 1967 and 1968.
Bob had many stories to tell about the Squad but his favorite was about the original Packard ambulance. The Packard could only carry a crew of two but Bob noted it required a crew of 4 to 5 because the starting motor did not work and 3 or 4 members were needed to push it to get up to speed so the driver could "pop" the clutch and go.
1967 members, Back, left to right:unknown, Michael Pinelli, William Montagna, unknown, Edward Lesczynski, unknown, Joseph Datko(cannot find a dispatcher number for Datko) Front, left to right: David Blackwell, Judith Pinelli, George Vannoy, Robert Miller, Robert Wilson, Jesse Scarborough
PFAS made it last call yesterday. It was a mutual aid call to a neighboring town; fitting for our years of commitment to Pennington, Hopewell Township and surrounding communities.
We would like to thank the hundreds of volunteers who have made our service possible over the years including those listed here and those who came before 1982 (before detailed call records).
Thanks to those who made more than 1000 calls
Kirk Schmitt (8177), Daniel Boone (3363), Frank Fechter Jr (2876), Richard Bailey Sr (2733), Jonathan Guerard (2281), Arthur Bogad (2234), Heather Varrasse (2169), John Muccioli (2011), Richard Bailey Jr (1704), Larry Taylor (1691), Jack Ferrara (1569), Zay Risinger (1543), June Guerard (1475), Weldon Bell (1456), Naomi McCarty (1428), Sharon Szalontay (1422), Neal Blackwell (1416), Cindy Orlandi (1396), Arlene Bowes (1374), Jessie Bailey (1351), Juliana Aberger (1336), Scott Sferra (1296), Thomas Tedd (1253), Mark Reside (1216), Richard Gordon (1117), Shelley Pennington (1064), Ellen Bell (1054), Deborah Gorczycki (1008)
Thanks to those who made more than 100 calls
Linda Hlavacek (945), Douglas Kabay (888), Richard Butterfoss (833), James E Johnson (823), Beth Sked (804), Daniel Walker (792), Frank Fechter (752), Leo Castenada (726), Kristen Orlandi (709), Jeffrey Alpert (705), James Li (700), Joan Schwarzwalder (688), Carol Davis (645), Calvin Scheetz (623), Casey Sked (617), Matthew Burd (597), Sarah Hopkins (590), Thomas Steinbacher (590), Mark Reading (554), Debbie Burd (539), Eric Hagman (538), Diane Snyder (477), Ben Tredrea (475), Denise Cosgriff (456), Heather Bailey (412), Stephen Bowes (405), Jessica Niederer (403), Richard Tuohy (403), Kurt Pedersen (399), Ellyn Gerberding (395), Becky Stout (386), Stewart Schwab (383), Rita Serotkin (379), Jason Belmont (371), Joel Orland (355), Constance Else (354), Jeff Ewart (340), Todd Davis (327), Gregory Resch (322), Jim Kenyon (322), Susan Etherington (315), Genevieve Schmitt (314), Heather Orlandi (314), Sean Davis (314), Rebecca Aspden (303), James Consolloy (288), Jacob Goertz (283), Rhiannan Thomas (283), Tor Russell (276), Betsy Bell (262), James Owens (256), Eldrid Truelove (255), Rebecca Miller (255), Kristine Cope (252), Glen Miller (250), Kelly Thompson (244), Benjamin Dafilou (239), Claudia Cooper (236), Mickey Pinelli (234), Aaron Bell (229), Brian Haig (226), Jennifer Riley (217), Nataliia Katcnelson (217), K Rohm (216), Christopher Anderson (215), Morgan Hall (213), Alden Thorndike (207), Bryan Butterfoss (207), James Barrow (207), Vincent Mistretta (206), Michael McDaniel (203), Paul Henry (202), Brian Hofacker (199), Edward Antrobus (199), Mike VanHamel (198), Mike Roubo (196), Caitlyn Chione (195), Debbie Smith (194), Bill Breece (189), Ben Burwell (188), Jeri Grandi (185), Robert Jackson (181), Janet Szalontay (178), Jyotirmoy Dev (175), Thomas Novick (173), Avery Dorgan (167), Matthew Martin (167), Robert Ross (167), Rev John Belmont (164), Holly Vanleeweneuk (161), Clay Parkhurst (157), William Sproule (156), Christopher Wu (155), Larry Nemeth (147), Barbara Tilton (146), Dylan Sturchio (146), Patricia Kazimir (146), Kok Wong (145), Jenn Park (144), Charles Thompson (143), Joyce Cook (137), Lisa Kmiec (136), Dave Robbins (132), Mary Ann Naples (129), Nicholas Smaltino (125), Andy Kuivenhoven (124), Jacob Hammer (122), Olivia Rojek (120), David Piburn (118), Kate Aberger (118), James Brown (116), John Giacoppa (114), Daniel Kolano (113), Kyle Niederer (113), Dylan Tredrea (112), Almeda Nangel (110), Brandon Li (105), Stefanie Witkop (105), Kimberly Tyler (102), Michael Achey (102), Sherri Ashmore (102)
And thanks to those who made the effort to join, train, and test whether they could commit to volunteer EMS.
Brandon Sobel, Michael Orland, Oskar Ramos, Jon Serputowski, Sara Kuwar, Janet Bukovec, Stephen Bielamowicz, Jennifer Folk, Lauren Apgar, Andrew Freeman, Jeffrey Coates, Neil Chopra, Stacey Furtado, Kevin Kearns, Wendella Doggett, Heidi Freeman, Wendy Ellenbogen, Anna Weingart, Walter Scherer, Danielle Erkoboni, unknown dispatcher 138, unknown dispatcher 149, Barbara Fechter, Sai Batchu, Robert Maguire, Richard Hutchinson, Barbara Stirling, Tyler Brennan, Elianne Shapiro, James Cohen, Shane Baldorossi, Erin Kelly, Laura Camp, Lillian Alford, Rosie Sutherland, Brielle Burd, Jeremy Borges, Kevin Carnall, Serena Celleri-Hall, Alice Freeman, Daniel Schulman, Jay Steiner, Krishna Kusupudi, Elizabeth Harris, Deron Williams, Morgan Zang, Joanne McMichael, Sandra Merritt, Aishwarya Chaparala, Stephanie Gorczycki, Raymond Pentel, Robert O'Neil, Sarah Kales, Bill Becker III, Jackie Palmer, Paul Lang, Barak Brashear, Bethany Duncan, Katelynn Baska, Kevin Zitko, Nathaniel Byrnes, Matt Arnone, Timothy Nemeth, John Tredrea, Michele Hiner, JoAnn Hager, Glenn Gabai, Julia Dunning, William Green, Lee Ferrette, Jonathan Getty, Vishnu Shenoy, Jonathan Wong, Lindsay Becker, Natasha Hansson, Gavin Rapport, Felicia Spatzer, Mallory Vicedomini, Samuel Highland, Anthony Molnar, Ethan Corcoran, Raquel Santos, William Deptula Sr, Brendan Clune, Duayne Thornton, Alexander Bennett, James Hines, Kyle Heys, Michael Briehler, Arvind Radhakrishnan, Cassandra Metz, Kevin Chase, David Pinelli, Glen Bevensee, Kate Burkman, Kelly McBride, Edward Zeng, Rebecca Ploth, William Titus, David Quigley, Doug Pinelli, Irving Brody, Tara Long, Ed Grobelny, Mercade Frost, unknown dispatcher 147, Alex Barquist, Andrew Baily, Julia Cueto, Nagima Alymkulova, Thomas Nyce, Zoe Nadeau, Stephen Pegram, David Comeau, Lily Nong, Suma Mallepeddi, Carly DeCesare, Donald McFarlane, Alexander Petruccio, Amy Capotosta, Bill Bartholomew, Danielle Beal, Johann Aberger, Nick Crate, Andrew Smith, Katherine Stevenson, Thomas Morpeth, Gavin Nelson, Amanda Kinley, David Dorsett, David Rubin, Kevin Riley, Robert Pentel, Alexandre Bennett, Arleta Ferrette, Bonnie Schmitt, Eric Keeny, Erin Hogan, Jennifer Watson, Renee Weisinger-Flood, Ronit Deshpande, Brandi Reedy, Priyanka Shenoy, Rob Arndt, Sathya Kummarapurugu, Cheri Simon, Emma Culleton, J Stuck, Judy Laaksonen, Robert McCracken, Erinn O'Conner, James Carlson, Katie Baska, Morgan Tallo, Suzanne Ramos, Elizabeth Mamer, Jennifer Castillo-Mercado, Jillian Bainbridge, Maryellen Schreiner, Michael Arnone, Michal Mus, David Dorow, Jessica Robinson, Marc Figel, Mohsin Ali, Renee Ilori, Sampath Chaparala, Angela Parascando, Aubrey Horvath, Bogdan Tashpulatov, Brent Devlin, Joseph Pensak, Kelsey Wolff, unknown dispatcher 136, Evan Goldsmith, Sasank Isola, Anna Marmus, Arjun Chaparala, Belinda Sibanda, Laraeb Tahir, Marcia Localio, Melanie Chen, Niklas Hansson, Aryn Gabai, Caleb Dafilou, David Bell, Dick Scheetz, Harrison Yang, Janet Crum, Jessica Dominguez, Mark Gross, Michael Beninato, Michael Stewart, Susan Kales, Tammy Peutz, Adrian Perez, Andrew Capriello, Brian Danielski, Jami Fassnacht, Mike Kamarad, Smriti Dhar, Anshul Jain, Christopher Womack, Dave Klapinski, Dennise Cortes, Dylan Hughes, Kelsey Cahill, Spencer Palder, Andrew Gurick, Barbara McVeety, Brett Reali, Christian Robinson, Drew Kintzel, Julia Orrico, Tian-na Green, Ann Kettenburg, Danny Dimopoulos, David Weisbord, Keyona Williams, Michell Nixon, Omkar Shivaprasad, Shabib Khan, Anuja Patel, Caity Cook, Douglas Pszczolkowski, Ian Malik, Kate Coakley, Pam Figel, Steve Killian, Wanda Thompson, Anna Zauner, Bob Jackson, Burk Sinclair, Jacqueline Pato, Joanne McGuire, Madison Ochs, Navneet Sandhar, Peter Levesque, Sanitra Desai, Veer Davda, Ashley Truffa, Elizaveta Medvedeva, Emily Benziger, Gail LaForge, Gareth Sutherland, John Matthews, Jon Helk, Linda Eyre, Richard Armstrong II, Shellen Arora, Troy Sabatura, unknown dispatcher 148, Bruce Harrison, Dana Oliver, John Bonasera III, Kabrini Abel, Marissa Tucci, Nicole Fasano, Robert McQueen, Sasha Draper, Anna Chamby, Avanti Suresh, Brendan Montemarano, Brynn Johnson, Daniel Kutuzov, Francis Hoyer, Glen Kraemer, Jason Costagne, Joan Markison, Lawrence Pierson, Maximilian Clark, Myles Ackerson, Sofia Guerino, unknown dispatcher 155, Wilmer Canto, Burke Sinclair, Conner Kruse, Hilary Harris, Janet Schaafsma, Jessica Herrera, Joe Pensak, Kim Allen-Poole, Marcus Jones, Matthew Prince, Patrick Bock, Sarah Hand, Alexandra Bove, Ananya Gutta, Anthony Dimattia, Eddy Cooner, Leslie Giovacchini, Megan Penney, Robert Bonitz, Rutu Patel, S Baker, unknown dispatcher 133, Ernie Doggett, James King, Jen Woods, Joshua Wilson, Lisa Springer, Nancy Desfosse, Natasja Lessiohadi, Sarah Medcalf, Steve Friedman, Steve Webb, Umar Aulia, Yash Shah, Allison Koeppe, Daniel Khan, Dennis Mazzone, J Hermann, Martin Scozzaro, Max Orland, Max Russo, Samuel Lee, Shivaprasad Omkar, Amit Patel, Brian Massarelli, Caroline Kuonen, Chuck Pisano, Daniel Spencer, David Dubuque, David York, Desiree Smith, Georgia Foley, Jarna Patel, Karen Copper, Kenneth Wittkop, Liz Sidler, Lori Gioia, P Holmes, Sally Hart, Sara Erwin, Sean Duffy, Sean Tierney, Shauna James, Shea Patel, Stephen Nalbach, Steven Bielamowicz, Victoria Minneci, Zachria Hasani, Aaron Vurgason, Alex Robinson, Alexandra Mullane, Amanda Lewis, Andrew Fosina, Bill Springer, Don Bonnet, J. Estrener, Joanna Wirkijowski, Kat Ross Kline, Katherine Linnehan, Kesha Choksi, Kristen Koenig, Lisa Radcliff, Maryann Harmon, Mike Snook, Nick Perold, Nuke Williams, Pravallika Palwai, Rebecca Sinha, Richard Alpaugh Jr, Sarah Shoeb, Shane Wilkins, Shreya Krishnan, Thomas Ie, Thomas Rose, Tom Casey, Yvonne Feight, Al Hart, Aly Bennett, Andrew Milea, Ashley Coble, Beth Lewis, Bryan Jannell, Chloe Revak, Christine Toth, Damian Lyness, Dan Bonnet, David Crum, David Earling, David Thomlison, Dustin Lesnever, Enid Blader, Gabe Breese, Hayes Noelene, Jamie Chrostowski, Jason Bergstrom, Jennifer Beatty, Jessica Sowden, Joann McMichael, John Northrop, Joseph Gribbons, Kelly Belmont, Kevin Oswald Jr, Kim Snyder, Lance Quinn, Leo Edgar, Liana Shehata, Linda Cappola, Mary Lee Bruno-Keil, Maryann Oswald, Patricia Phillips, Paula Castagne, Rhonda Stovekon, Rosanna Allen-Poole, Rose Novak, Terry Ward, Tim Lynch, Tina Choudhary
Thanks also to those who rode before detailed call records were kept, 1954-1982.
Dick Acorn, Joseph Alexander, Charles Barranco, John Bauer, K. W. Beeley, Robert E Beyer, Sheila Beyer, Robert C Beyer, David Blackwell, Elizabeth Bradbury, Christopher Brashier, Robert Brashier, Jeanne Bronk, Gail Butterfoss, Caryl Campbel, Richard Chorlton, Louise Chut, Richard Collinson, Dan Cook, Ronald Czyzewski, Ken Davis, James Dellemonache, Linda Denicola, Joseph Dermen, Judith Dermen, Bruce Deveral, Joe Dutke, Thomas Eleniewski, Thomas Etherington, Lisa Farina, William Fitzcharles, Jr, Paul Frascella, Anthony Genovese, Bill Goldfeder, Carol Grahamslaw, Abigail Hansen, Karen Harmeier, George W Hibbs, George Hibbs Jr, Patricia Hindin, Patricia Hindin, Hank Holton, Judith Holton, Bill Howe, Mac Hoyt, Kathy Johnson, Michael Kissel, John Knight, Deborah Kriegner, Thomas Krisanda, Victoria Laing, James Larkin, Edward Lesczynski, Ann Lewandowski, Ronald Liuzzo, William Loveman, Richard Lyons, Barbara Maccarillo, Bernard Maccarillo, Christopher Martin, James McAchen, James Mehalyak, Gladys Menzel, Pamela Meyers, Samuel Robert Miller, Claire Miller, Stewart O'Donnell, Stanley Ostroff, Nell Parsons, Cherie Patricelli, Judith Pinelli, Janice Polansky, Sharon Polansky, John Pollock, Peggy Putko, Louise Rhoads, William Rogers, Mary Jane Rogers, Deborah Rutledge, Vincent Scannella Jr, Vince Scannello, Jesse Scarborough, Robert Scheck, Jane Scheck, Eugene Schooley, Fred Schreck, Marjorie Sickles, Karen Sinclair, Bill Smith, Richard Somogi, Karen Spitzer, Elizabeth Spitzer, David Steel, Gordon Sterling, Barbara Sterling, Keith Stevens, Newton Stewart, Frances Stine, Nils Stout, Sharon Udy, Robert Van Dyke, Leroy Van Dyke, George W Vannoy, Bruce Walder, Amy Washburn, Mark Washburn, Brad Weeden, Kim Welebir, James Welsh, Elizabeth Wilczek, Pat Williams, Daniel Williams, Joyce Williams, Robert A Wilson, W. Zaremba
See LOSAP
Pennington First Aid Squad is not accepting applications. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact our partner squads, Union Fire Co. & Rescue Squad or Hopewell Fire Department and Emergency Medical Unit for more information.
It is with deep sadness that the Pennington First Aid Squad informs its members of the loss of their friend and colleague, Heather Varrasse, on Sunday, December 4, 2022. Heather joined the squad in 1997 and was a member in good standing for 25 years. Throughout that time, she served the squad as 1st and 2nd Assistant Captain and NJ State First Aid Council 9th District Delegate. She distinguished herself as Top Responder once and Top Ten Responder fourteen times. Heather responded to 2172 calls throughout her volunteer career with PFAS. Heather was also a past Chief of EMS with Hopewell Fire Department and Emergency Medical Unit and a 911 dispatcher at LifeComm and Mercer County Central. She was 42 years old.
Monday evening, December 5th at 6-8 pm, members are invited to the squad building for an informal time to grieve and remember our dear Sister Heather.
A short clip of Heather receiving a 911 call for a Hazmat incident at BMS
After 68 years of continuous 911-response to the community, the Pennington First Aid Squad (PFAS) will stop responding to emergency calls at midnight on February 28, 2022. The squad will go out of business shortly after that date.
This decision is not unique, for many volunteer first aid squads throughout New Jersey have had to make similar decisions. Despite ongoing membership drives, PFAS has suffered from steadily declining volunteer EMTs over the last seven-to-eight years. Many senior members have aged out. Younger college and high school members have been a vital support but most left after their school years ended or they took paid jobs in EMS. Volunteers in the 25-60 age group who stayed and became officers and top responders have been few, and since 2018, none. COVID hit hard and accelerated the attrition.
At the beginning of 2021 the squad realized its significant problems as attrition continued and new applications flagged, despite the "end" of the COVID pandemic. Squad leadership pursued several avenues to help ease staffing difficulties, including ramping up our recruitment and retention efforts, and trying to expand the use of paid EMTs to supplement the volunteers. Sadly, no solution was enough to overcome the challenges we faced.
Despite the dwindling number of volunteers, the remaining PFAS EMTs have continued to answer the nearly 1300 calls PFAS responds to annually. Amazingly, we accomplished this with less than 4% scratches (calls needing mutual aid). Despite all our efforts to continue volunteer service, the lack of trained personnel has left the squad with no other option than to disband.
While it is with great regret that we came to this decision, the members of PFAS leave behind a legacy of service to the community that will live on in the memory of those whom we've helped in their time of need and their families. Our work over the years has been made possible by the generous support of our community, by generous donations from the community, and the support of local government. We would like to thank everyone who helped support us over the years.
Members and guests enjoyed the first recognition dinner since the COVID pandemic began at Villa Francesco.
Members and guests
Members should be aware that the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can now be reached at the 3-digit phone number, 988, or by webchat at 988lifeline.org.
The goals for the Lifeline are to:
In about 2% of contacts, counselors will determine that someone is at imminent risk of harming themselves or others. The Lifeline will then contact 911 to dispatch emergency services.
James Li and Naomi McCarty were honored with a Civilian Service Award presented by Chief James Rosso in a ceremony at the Hopewell Township Committee Meeting. The award was for their part in the save of a 5 year old child in cardiac arrest. Complete text is available.
Award to Sergeant Panzano and Officer Crincoli of the Hopewell Township Police and EMT Naomi McCarty and James Li of the Pennington First Aid Squad.
Members of the PFAS attended the service which honored the 60+ fire, EMS, and auxiliary service members from Mercer county who have died within the last year. PFAS members Naomi McCarty, James Li, and Kirk Schmitt honored charter member Carl Lauricella who was active in the 1950s and 1960s when the Pennington First Aid Squad was the Pennington Post 413 American Legion First Aid Squad and and honored President and Assistant Captain Shelley Pennington active from 2017 until her untimely death in 2021.
Memorial plaque and flowers. One white chrysthanemum placed by family or active members for each deceased member.
EMT Kirk Schmitt answered his 8000th call today. Since joining the PFAS in 1989, EMT Schmitt has often been the top responder. He has also served as Captain and First and Second Assistant Captain. He is currently Treasurer of the PFAS. He has been webmaster for the Squad since 2007. His call total is the highest of any PFAS member past or present.
Naomi McCarty, Shelley Pennington, Kirk Schmitt, 2 car headon MVA, 2-Dec-2018 at 2AM, 1800 Pennington Road, 8 to trauma centers, 1 died later, units called from Trenton, Morrisvillle, Hamilton, Ewing, Pennington, Hopewell, Titusville, Princeton.
PFAS along with members from all Hopewell Valley police and fire departments participated in a solemn remembrance of the 911 attacks and those lost.
Julie Aberger and Kirk Schmitt, the only PFAS members who are still active with PFAS and responded to New York on 911. Behind them is 151-2, the ambulance that responded with 6 PFAS members (Leo Castenada, Kirk Schmitt, Zay Risinger, Steve Friedman, Eldrid Truelove, and Julianna Aberger) to lower Manhattan. 151-2 now lives out its life as a Hopewll township police department special services vehicle after retiring from PFAS.
Two PFAS ambulance crews responded to the successful rescue of 3 Hopewell Township police officers caught in flood waters from the remnants of hurricane Ida. Companies from Hopewell Valley and throughout Mercer County responded to the call for help and were able to bring the officers to safety. More on the rescue can be found at people.com
PFAS weathered the storm, and responded to several other water rescues despite having to relocate our ambulances to higher ground as flood waters rose to within feet of the ambulance bay doors. Ida, Sandy, and Irene all came within a few inches of entering the PFAS building.
Flood waters and stranded vehicles in front of the PFAS building. Drivers were able to walk out. Water came to ambulance bay doors.
The observer program lets you try riding on an ambulance before you commit to formal training. It also lets the PFAS see if you are serious about riding as a volunteer EMT before we pay for your course. The observer program was suspended during COVID. We are pleased to announce it has been re-instated and encourge persons interested in applying to click on Join or the Join tab above to learn more.
The Pennington First Aid Squad is in grief over the loss yesterday of President Shelley Pennington. Shelley was only with the PFAS for four years but her impact was tremendous. She was a dynamic, enthusiastic, always positive force for improvement in the Squad. She rapidly moved from member, to driver, to crew chief, to 2nd Assistant Captain before taking over the most responsible role of President. As she noted, if I can fly jets for the Navy and UPS, I can drive an ambulance. She responded to 1064 calls for service in her short time and was the number 2 or 3 responder for 4 years. She was a driver for numerous improvements to our building that made life easier for volunteers. A memorial service will be held for Shelley at the Pennington United Methodist Church tomorrow at 530 PM. A Service of Committal and Remembrance of Shelley and her parents Jack and Jo Pennington was held on October 21, 2023 at the Pennington Presbyterian Church Cemeterey and at the United Methodist Church of Pennington.Pictures and biographies of Shelley. More about Shelley may be found at MercerMe.
PFAS has had a power lift, self-loading stretcher, the Ferno IN∫X, on its van ambulance 151-2 for 4 years. The lifting and loading feature has been used thousands of times. It has saved much back strain and been a boon for our older and smaller members.
This year we budgeted to add another power stretcher to one of our box ambulances but a generous donation from Kirk and Bonnie Schmitt made it possible to purchase two Stryker Power-Pro XT stretchers so we could equip both box ambulances, 151-1 and 151-3. The first was accepted this week and the second should be installed next week. Some members have been trained already and all have expressed pleasure with the design, operation and weight of the Stryker stretcher. The stretcher has been used on calls.
Members Richard Gordon (left) and Arthur Bogad (right) practice with Stryker Power-Pro while Captain John Muccioli (back) looks on.
We were saddened to hear of the passing of John Matthews, dispatcher 137. John was active with the Pennington First Aid Squad in the 1980s.
We were saddened to hear of the passing today of John Pollock, dispatcher 53. John was active with the Pennington First Aid Squad in the 1970s as a 5-pointer and EMT. He was Monday night crew chief and a delegate to the NJ State First Aid Council.
Residents of the PFAS district in Hopewell Township may take advantage of the Hopewell Township police program, "Operation Blue Angel".
Eligible residents 55 years of age or older and live alone or will be alone for extended periods of time on a regular basis; or persons with a medical condition(s) that could lead to incapacitation and who live alone or are alone for extended periods of time on a regular basis; or live with another individual and meet any of the requirements.
The program consists of a lockbox, which will be owned and maintained by the Police Department, which will be placed on the participant’s door by Police personnel. The lockbox will contain a key to the residence (which the resident must supply). The key will only be accessed by responding police officers in the event of an emergency where officers cannot gain access to the residence. The Operation Blue Angel program lockbox will not be accessed by anyone for any other means.
More information is available on the Township website.
Top row, left to right: Shelley Pennington (President), Kirk Schmitt (Treasurer), Caitlyn Chione (Second Assistant Captain)
Second row, left to right: Naomi McCarty (Vice President), James Li (Trustee), Heather Varrasse (First Assistant Captain)
Third row, left to right: Arthur Bogad (Trustee), Joan Schwarzwalder (Recording Secretary), John Muccioli (Captain)
Bottom row, left to right: Tara Long (Corresponding Secretary), Neal Blackwell (Trustee)
Click on image for larger view