BY COLLEEN LUTOLF
Staff Writer
BRICK — Volunteer EMTs may be receiving some aid of their own if the township hires 12 full-time, paid first-aiders this spring.
“The number of first-aid volunteers are down,” Brick police Lt. Doug Kinney said. “Our squad members are taxed and stretched to the limit. They’re at the point where they’re being run ragged.”
Kinney said paid EMTs will not replace volunteers, but support them.
“We talked to each squad to hear their concerns and assured them this is not a plan to eradicate the volunteer squads,” he said. “They’re a great bunch of people who perform a beautiful job at ungodly hours. Without the volunteer team, this plan won’t work.”
Volunteers answer an estimated 18 calls per day, too many for the overworked EMTs, Kinney said.
“The problem with first-aid calls is that they don’t happen on a schedule,” he said.
Kinney said the volunteer shortage has not yet caused any problems with response times.
“We’ve had absolutely no complaints with the first aid, but we’re going to head off a problem where burnout and fatigue could cause a problem for our town,” he said.
Along with volunteer first-aiders, Brick relies on Alert Ambulance Service, a private emergency transport service that responds to township calls if volunteers are not available.
Paid EMTs will answer calls only if volunteer first-aiders are not available, Kinney said.
Alert will continue to provide ambulance service to Brick even if paid staff members are hired.
“During the day, when the regular [volunteer] first aid isn’t available, the paid first aid will handle calls,” Kinney said. “We’ll still use Alert as a backup.”
Volunteers are most available in the evening hours between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., Kinney said. During that time frame, paid workers will be on call and used as backup, Kinney said.
“We’ll see times when the volunteers are working and the paid group responds to jobs while Alert is still on call,” Kinney said.
The event of a car accident with a lot of injuries would dictate such a scenario where all three units may respond to calls, he said.
The paid EMTs will be considered police department employees and be administrated under the Brick Township Police Department’s Community Policing Unit, Kinney said.
Paid EMTs will possibly be represented by the Transportation Workers Union and will earn between $27,040 and $45,760 a year, Township Business Administrator Scott MacFadden said.
The township also pays toward employee benefits, which MacFadden estimated to cost $8,000 for single employees and $16,000 for a family health plan.
Other details, such as a chain of command, where the paid workers will be housed and whether the new hires will maintain their own equipment or share with volunteers are still under consideration, MacFadden said.
Kinney said paid workers may share facilities and equipment with the EMT volunteers.
One piece of equipment the volunteers and paid workers may share is a new $132,000 ambulance the township plans to purchase as Phase II of the 2005 capital improvement program.
“We would need two [ambulances],” Kinney said. “We’re looking at some ambulances readily available from the first aid.”
Brick Township is now encouraging individuals interested in becoming a paid township EMT to take a civil service test.
Applicants are required to possess a current valid Emergency Medical Technician Certification issued by the state Department of Health and Human Services and a current and valid professional level CPR certification issued by the American Red Cross.
Applications are due by Oct. 19. Test applications are available on the state Department of Personnel Web site at www.state.nj.us/personnel.