whats the best volunteer ambulance in nyc?

[student medic]

I've been volunteering at a local volunteer company in brooklyn. Lately I've began to realize that I'm not getting the best training that I could be. Mainly because most of the time the crew just seems to want to hang out instead of going on calls. Which is a shame really because in that part of brooklyn we get alot of GSW and other trauma calls.

So i'm just wondering if anybody here might know which volly company might serve me better in NYC?

[Richard B the EMT]

There's 30 VAC or VAS in the 5 boroughs, so ask around.

[DwayneEMTP]

There's 30 VAC or VAS in the 5 boroughs, so ask around.

Isn't that what he was doing here?

[Chief1C]

Pick one that has a star of life on the ambulance, instead of a red cross, or whatever the case may be. Or is that just New Jersey where you can put whatever the hell you want on an ambulance?

[zmedic]

I still don't really understand volly EMS in NYC. It seems like a lot of them are in places that are covered by FDNY, where they either monitor the radio and try to "jump calls," or else they are called directly by people because they don't want to deal with the city EMS. Anywhere that you are trying to beat the 911 ambulance to a call is sketchy.

[Richard B the EMT]

A formalized EMS system used throuout the city only came in around 1970. Some of the VACs have been around from the 1930s.

[student medic]

well in my company we try to beat FDNY to the call. they all know us so sometimes they'll show up but let us transport. we also listen to police radio and we'll get to call before FDNY. but like i said some of the crew are just playing games so i need a more serious company.

[zmedic]

well in my company we try to beat FDNY to the call. they all know us so sometimes they'll show up but let us transport. we also listen to police radio and we'll get to call before FDNY. but like i said some of the crew are just playing games so i need a more serious company.

Like I said. Are there other places in the US where there is a volunteer service that is scanning the radio and trying to beat the official 911 system to calls? In most areas of the country if you were jumping calls based on scanning the radio you'd get arrested. (Not saying NYC vollys should get arrested, just that it's a weird way to run a railroad.)

It seems like it would make more sense for FDNY to say "hey, you guys have this 10 block area, you have the same computer system in the your bus as we do, you guys are 15 Victor, and we'll dispatch you from FDNY coms." That would allow them to move a FDNY truck somewhere else that it was needed.

[student medic]

yes Zmedic that would make more sense

[Richard B the EMT]

We have that system already in place, but the FDNY is fighting against it. The system used to be called MARS, for Mutual Aid Radio System, but I forget what the name got changed to.

Pre merger into the FDNY, the EMS assigned my Peninsula Volunteer Ambulance Corps the first call ever oficially issued over that system, with PVAC's radio designator being 94Larry2, the 9 indicating a VAC/VAS, the 4 being the borough/county of Queens. The letter was arbitrarily assigned as each VAC/VAS joined the system.

Furthering along, at the time MARS was set up, the EMS units used the first number of their radio designator to show what borough/county they were assigned in, 1 was Manhattan (New York county), 2 was the Bronx, 3 was Brooklyn (Kings county), 4 was Queens, and 5 was Staten Island (Richmond county). The second number was the part of the borough/county, as example, the Rockaways and Broad Channel areas of Queens were the Q1, hence, EMS Station Rockaway units were designated as 41 (whatever). Letters "A" through "S" were BLS units, and "V" through "Z" were ALS. the 1, 2 or 3 ending the formal designations indicated the tour (for the MARS units, the 2 or 3 indicated a VAC/VAS first and second unit from the same MARS unit). Overnights were tour 1, daylight was 2, evenings were 3. You'd probably only hear the tour part of the designators near the start or end of the tours. Before I was assigned there, which was after the merger, my EMS unit was 41Adam3.

After the EMS/FDNY merger, the designations changed to reflect the FDNY Battalion it was located in, so Rockaway Station 41 became Station 47, Station 45 at Queens General Hospital became Station 53. Unit 41Adam3 became 47Adam3. The VAS/VACs retained their numbers, unaffected by this change.