The Beginning

It was at a regular meeting of the East Rochester Volunteer Fire Department on December 2, 1938 that the ambulance corps was born. A motion was made to from a committee to look into purchasing a vehicle, equipment, and obtain training for the members of the First Aid Squad. The first vehicle was a 1931 Cadillac touring car purchased for $150.00. It was rebuilt with the help of the West Webster Fire Chief, at an additional cost of $830.00. The first members were hand picked by the fire council on June 2, 1939 to begin training. The training, furnished by an insurance company, was five nights a week and lasted six months.

The Separation

For the first ten years, the First Aid Squad was still part of the East Rochester Volunteer Fire Department. Then, in 1948, the village board notified the squad that they could no longer insure the squad car as an ambulance. The fine record of the squad prompted a door-to-door campaign to raise funds to purchase a regular ambulance. The goal of the fund drive was $3.00 from each house in the village. At the same time a new ambulance was purchased, it was decided that the First Aid Squad should be independent of the Fire Department. So the East Rochester Volunteer Ambulance Corps known today came into being as a separate, independent entity.

The First Ambulance

Much has changed since that first open back touring car, with which, the winter months saw patients being covered with a blanket held in place by medics laying on top of it on each side of the patient to keep it from blowing away and to keep the patient warm. This must have been an incredibly cold experience for those early members, but then it was a luxury to have an ambulance service, let alone for free. Today, the corps has two of the most up to date modular type ambulances available. These new ambulances allow for the the treatment of the most severe injury or illness with enough room for several medics to work on several patients at the same time without interfering with each other.

Training

East Rochester was one of the first volunteer ambulances to require a minimum level of training of American Red Cross Advanced First Aid of its members. In 1977 we also became the first volunteer corps in the county to become New York State certified, thus guaranteeing the residents of the village the best care that can be obtained.

Mobilizing Members

During the early years, it was often difficult to contact enough squad members to respond to calls. They solved this problem by blowing 2-2-2 on the fire horn, and calling members on the telephone. In those days, the telephone operator was the most valuable person in town. When the operator received a request for the First Aid Squad, she would start calling squad members one by one. The first man to the fire hall would blow the horn and off they would go. As the squad became recognized in the village, the car shops and the piano works granted permission for their employees who were squad members to leave work to respond to First Aid calls. Occasionally, this made raising a crew very inconvenient. One man would get the squad car, drive to the car shops or the piano works, pick up a full crew, and respond to the call. We were also one of the first organizations to issue portable radios to all of its members. In later years, there was an upgrade to the pager system still used today.

Other Advances

Basic Life Support

Advances in the pre-hospital care field have improved drastically the level of treatment that can be expected in the field under emergency conditions. Persons that used to be pronounced dead at the scene are now not only surviving, but usually with very little lasting effects of the incident.

Advance Life Support

One of the first all volunteer mobile critical care units in the county was started in joint cooperation with the East Rochester, Perinton, and Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance Corps in 1975. With more than sixty years behind it and many firsts along the way, the East Rochester Volunteer Ambulance Corps will continue to lead the way for many years to come.