Morning Lineup - August 6 | Firegeezer.com

I thought we were through talking about First Responder programs for a few days, at least. But Dave Statter (STATter911) reminded me of a pure volunteer first responder program that operates in Brooklyn, New York.

The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps just celebrated its 20th anniversary on July 19. Founded in 1988 by two NY City EMS workers, the organization has functioned on donations alone. When Joseph “Rocky” Robinson and Joe Perez started the grass-roots squad, the average response times for ambulances in the Bed-Stuy section of the city was 10 minutes. They soon brought that down to under 4 minutes with their dedicated volunteers who now respond to over 100 emergency calls per month.

Starting with nothing more than a shelf full of first aid supplies, they would get a direct phone call for help and grab their aid bag along with an oxygen therapy kit mounted in a backpack and literally run to the incident. Eventually they got two ambulances in service, staffed with certified EMT’s. Not content with just the emergency response team, Robinson set up a trailer on a city-owned lot and began neighborhood training in first aid, CPR and first-responder certification. They are also recognized by the Dept. of Health as a 3-yr. EMT Recertification agency.

On their website they tell us that:

In addition to medical services, BSVAC has worked tirelessly to train the Bed-Stuy community. To date, over two thousand local residents have been trained through BSVAC as First Responders who can save lives in emergencies. BSVAC has also developed a remarkable Youth Corps program that provides CPR, first aid and basic emergency medical training to teens and young adults, preparing them for full-time employment in emergency medicine.

A program for younger children, called the Trauma Troopers, has also been developed by BSVAC; it provides CPR and first aid training. In addition to medical training, these programs provide positive role models and social activities. To date, hundreds of young people have completed the program; almost 100 of the graduates have become EMTs or have otherwise pursued careers in medicine as nurse, physician’s assistant, or doctor.

Rocky Robinson retired from the City EMS division in 2000 at the rank of Captain with just over 30 years service. But he has not retired from his second vocation as leader and bedrock of the remarkable volunteer rescue squad plonked down in the center of one of the world’s largest cities.

Earlier this year the headquarters trailer was condemned by the city for being unsafe. Rocky has been working all year on plodding through the Byzantine maze of regulations to get all the approvals needed to replace it. Grant money was provided for the new home and now all the permits are in place. The new headquarters will become a reality soon. Recently they had to park one of their two ambulances for want of $24,000 needed for the insurance. But Robinson always finds a way to get over those kinds of hurdles.

Last month the television show Hannity’s America did a nice 6-minute interview with Robinson and visited the BSVAC. Someone grabbed it off the tv and posted the segment HERE. You can also visit the rescue squad’s website to learn more about their operation HERE.

But before you check out those two sites, let’s get this equipment checked out for the day. I’ll get the coffee started.

Morning Lineup at Bed-Stuy VAC