By Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta
Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad has been serving the community since 1942. President Joe Savino has been with the Squad for the past five years. With limited funding from the township, their operating budget comes 100 percent from donations.
“The town does as much as they can,” said Savino. “They help us with maintenance, if we have a special request. We don’t have fundraisers. We do fund drives to every resident asking them to donate. Many will send a contribution. By and large the community is supportive, but we barely make our budget. There is no surplus.”
In addition to contributions, the squad relies on people in the community who are willing to commit their time to volunteer.
“We have twenty-two regular members and they ride on a committed weekly schedule,” said Savino. “That is the minimum we need to keep a full roster. We are always looking for new members. We would love to have at least five new regular members.”
Volunteers must be able to commit to 12 hours during the week and 12 hours on a weekend once a month. A shift is every 12 hours – 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Since Berkeley Heights is a small town, volunteers can be on call at home, not in the building. Savino said, “Go about and do your business, but be absolutely available. I work Tuesday night, over night shift. I have a police radio and a pager. If they need us, I jump in my car and meet the crew.”
Savino said the squad receives 950 calls per year, which is approximately two to three calls per day. “In this area we have a lot of geriatric calls,” he said. “And we do have our share of trauma calls. We do get our share of high impact accidents on the highway. We patrol about four miles on Route 78.”
Riding a small ambulance out on Route 78, Savino is grateful to the fire department. “They help with getting people out of vehicles and they have a big heavy firetruck that would protect us from a vehicle hitting us. They are excellent. They’re a good bunch of guys to partner with,” he said.
The squad currently has 22 regular members; three regular members who are college students; 16 associate members; and one currently taking the EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) test, which Savino feels is the hardest thing getting through. Prior to taking the EMT test, a volunteer can ride up to a year as an associate, then take it to the next level. Once a volunteer passes the EMT course, they are permitted to take the state exam.
“You basically have a year to take the exam,” said Savino. “You can ride for a year with no other commitment. Basically, it’s a two-year program. The squad will pay for all the training.”
There are also nine high school cadets on board. “We invite high school kids to ride a three-hour shift with us,” said Savino. “Some are thinking of becoming doctors or nurses. A nice bunch of high school kids.”
If anybody is interested in finding out more about the rescue squad, they could come in and fill out an application. The headquarters are located at 378 Snyder Avenue, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey (on the corner of Snyder and Locust Avenue).
The Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad is funded primarily through donations. They are all volunteers and do not charge for transport to the hospital or for medical supplies, so any donations are truly appreciated.
All contributions are tax deductible. To donate by check, please make your check out to Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad and mail to:
Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad
PO Box 117
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
Or visit their website to make a donation online at bhvrs.org
For general information, call 908-464-1141.
Photos Courtesy of Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad
(above) Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad.
