Allison Musante

By: centraljersey.com
PLAINSBORO – Despite a significant increase in emergency calls this year, the Plainsboro Rescue Squad saw one of its best years in fundraising, recruiting new members, and providing quality service within the township as well as to its neighbors.
Chief Brian Gould said the squad, a band of about 60 volunteers, received 735 calls this year, as of Dec. 16, up from 570 calls last year. But Chief Gould could not attribute the rise to a single cause.
"There wasn’t a big increase on any given type of call," he said. "There seemed to be more trauma across the board."
He said the squad did not receive any calls from the new Merwick Care and Rehabilitation Center that opened in the fall, but he expects the call volume to jump when the new hospital opens.
The squad also responded to 104 calls from the Princeton Windrows retirement community, 32 calls to the township municipal complex, mostly to aid the police department, and handled a record number of mutual aid assignments, including Princeton, Cranbury, West Windsor, and South Brunswick.
Chief Gould said the squad gained 15 new EMTs this year and expects eight more to receive their certification in the next few months.
"Fifteen in a single year is tremendous," he said. "Our recruiting efforts have been spectacular." He added that the squad often has more people than it can use during regular shifts.
"But it’s a great problem to have," he said. "And we anticipated that in this economy we wouldn’t have done so well, but we’ve heard nothing but positive feedback from the town and our new EMTs are happy to join."
This year’s residential fund drive brought in more than $62,000.
"Usually we’re happy to get $50,000, so this is gratifying," he said. "The money goes toward our critical supplies – oxygen tanks, bandages, equipment, truck repair, and the things we need to operate." He said the township also makes a voluntary donation each year, but public fundraising, which the squad solicits through the mail throughout the year, accounts for the squad’s largest source of income. He said the trucks faced several significant mechanical and electrical problems over the past year, but thanks to public fundraising, the squad was able to deploy the trucks on every call.
"We’re proud to have done so well in 2010," he said. "And we thank the public for their support."