CRANBURY: First Aid Squad and FD need volunteers

By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
   CRANBURY — Representatives from the Cranbury Fire Department and First Aid Squad were on hand at Monday’s Township Committee meeting, making a request that highlighted the organizations’ need for more daytime volunteers.
   Charlie Smith, First Aid Squad captain and Fire Department president, asked members of the committee to emphasize the importance of responding to possible emergencies among specific municipal employees, who receive extra pay for volunteering with the two agencies.
   ”It’s hard when we can’t count on these extra couple of people,” Capt. Smith said at the meeting. “Maybe the grass gets cut tomorrow rather than today.”
   Township officials agreed to discuss the matter over with all parties involved but responded by saying that there are instances where leaving the work site is not an option for these municipal employees.
   Township Administrator Christine Smeltzer said of the three public works employees who are paid an additional $1 an hour to respond to emergencies when able, at least one is certified to work with the First Aid Squad.
   ”They are not required to respond,” Ms. Smeltzer said of those employees. “We ask them to respond. Sometimes, by the time they get there it’s over, or a false alarm. Sometimes they are in the middle of something and that can impact whether or not they respond.”
   Although the number of Fire Department and First Aid Squad members is about average, Mr. Smith said finding volunteers that can respond to daytime emergencies has been a recent challenge for both organizations.
   Both organizations currently have about 25 members, numbers that Capt. Smith said he would like to see doubled.
   ”All around everyone is shorthanded,” Mr. Smith said. “We want active people who really want to participate and help out their community.”
   To join the First Aid Squad, members initially need 130 hours of EMT certification, training that is paid for by the organization and that must be completed through other agencies.
   Some in-house training required also includes CPR certification and familiarization with the ambulance and township procedures.
   For potential members of the Fire Department, within the first year of joining volunteers must complete a Firefighter I class, a course usually offered by area fire academies and paid for by the department.
   In-house training for the department includes CPR training, vehicle extraction, ice rescue, water rescue and high angle rescue. Members are also encouraged, but not required, to receive their EMT certification, Capt. Smith said.
   ”It’s small town volunteerism and we’d like to keep that alive,” he said. “People should get involved, it might be your neighbor or friend that needs the help. We need to be able to answer the call you could make all the difference.”
   For more information, on the Fire Department, 2 N. Main St., contact officials at 609-395-0633. For more information on the First Aid Squad, 68 Maplewood Ave., contact officials at 609-395-1707.