By Justin Zaremba
The Record
HALEDON, N.J. — The Paterson Fire Department’s newly minted ambulance service to the borough is working well, says Mayor Domenick Stampone.
With this month’s dissolution of the Haledon Emergency Ambulance Association, Stampone outlined the first month of service by the Paterson unit in a report to the Borough Council late last week.
He said the Paterson squad responded to 43 calls with an average response time of “8 to 9 minutes,” with most falling into the 5- to 7-minute range and several exceeding that range at 12 minutes, 14 minutes and, in one case, 28 minutes.
So far, Stampone said, the borough was “very happy with the professionalism and response” of the Paterson unit, later adding, “We’ll continue to monitor this arrangement.”
Last year, the volunteer HEAA informed Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park that it would dissolve after 77 years, effective Feb. 1. It did so after fruitlessly requesting that the three boroughs buy four new ambulances to replace worn-out vehicles. Haledon and Prospect Park balked at the purchases -- at an estimated cost of $160,000 to $200,000 each -- expressing concerns about reduced volunteerism and daytime coverage.
Given the HEAA’s pending demise, Haledon and Prospect Park pursued an agreement with the Paterson Fire Department for coverage. They formalized an agreement on Dec. 28 in which Paterson agreed to provide ambulance service for the smaller boroughs “at no expense” from Jan. 1, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2013. Paterson instead will directly bill customers who use the service.
Haledon and Prospect Park must each provide Paterson with an emergency vehicle for use “at Paterson’s discretion.” Paterson will maintain the vehicles at its own expense and, at the conclusion of the agreement, return the vehicles to the respective municipalities.
According to the agreement, patients served by Paterson will be taken to the nearest suitable medical facility, but they may request other facilities -- “whenever possible, patients will be given a choice of destination medical centers located in Paterson, Wayne, Ridgewood or Hackensack,” the agreement says. It added: “Paterson will also consider patients’ requests to be taken to medical facilities located in other municipalities.”
Upon request, Paterson also will provide the boroughs with a standby ambulance and two emergency medical technicians for each municipal or recreational event at a rate of $150 per event.
Meanwhile, North Haledon will likely formalize an agreement with the newly created North Haledon Volunteer Ambulance Inc. on Feb. 16. North Haledon Mayor Randy George had advocated for the dissolution of the HEAA since its announcement and encouraged former members to join a North Haledon ambulance squad.
Frank Coscia, the attorney representing the ambulance squad, has said that “most if not all members” of the HEAA expressed interest in joining North Haledon’s new unit.
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