2014 Year in Review!

The Lincroft First Aid & Rescue Squad (LFARS) had an active year for 2014 answering 1,018 calls for emergency services. A lot of members went above and beyond in participation and earned “Top Responder” status, those members were Jim Kelly 454 calls, Ryan Mullins 367 calls, James Crawford 240 calls, John Kelly 229 calls, Sarah Stanley 131 calls, Lindsay Ferko 125 calls, Brittany Kovacs 104 calls, Michelle Monaco-Jones 103 calls, and Brandon Leung 101 calls. These members’ hard work and dedication to the Squad and community is truly amazing and is applauded, since E.M.S. is quite often overlooked. Additionally, in 2014 three members, James Kelly, Brock Siebert, and Francis Hankins, earned “Life Membership” status for the squad, which means these members have been active on the Squad for the past ten years. Member James Kelly set a milestone accomplishment by setting a new record for the Squad in that, since joining in 2004, he has earned the “Top Responder of the Year Award” every year since his first year on the Squad answering a total of 4,967 calls, which averages to approximately thirteen calls a day!

Members of LFARS have continued their dedication in 2015 answering 72 calls in January. Top responders for that month were James Kelly with 28 calls, John Kelly with 24 calls, and Sarah Stanley with 20 calls. Additionally, the Squad had one inclement snow weather standby, whereby members stayed at the building and were “on-call” for duration of the snowstorm. The Squad also performed eight duty crew assignments throughout January. Duty crew assignments are part of an ongoing effort to improve the EMS response in Middletown, and such shifts require one of the five EMS squads to be “on-call and standing by” with ambulance crews for their assigned night. Those crews are responsible for responding to any call for EMS throughout the Middletown Township.

The month of February proved to be a challenging one for LFARS. During that month, LFARS answered 49 calls, performed seven duty crews, and had three inclement weather standbys. Top Responders were John Kelly 40 calls, James Crawford 33 calls, James Kelly 32 calls. Additionally, LFARS had three CPR saves, meaning a patient was in cardiac arrest and the members on the call were able to obtain pulses back before arriving at the hospital. Members that earned the CPR saves were Ryan Mullins on 2/15/15, James Kelly, James Crawford, and Ryan Mullins on 2/17/15, and Chris Lombardi and Ryan Mullins on 2/21/15. LFARS’s Dive Team, in conjunction with the Middletown Township Dive team Task Force, were going to participate in an ice rescue drill, but unfortunately due to adverse weather conditions, the drill was postponed in the interests of the safety of our members. One week later, members of the Leonardo First Aid Dive Team (part of the task force) responded to an actual ice rescue emergency when a 14-year-old girl fell through the ice in Sandy Hook Bay. (http://on.app.com/1A3Dbye is a video of the rescue from app.com)

The challenges facing LFARS continued over into March 2015. During March, LFARS answered 111 calls, performed eight duty crews, and held one inclement weather standby. Top responders for the month were James Kelly with 64 calls, Ryan Mullins 50 calls, Sarah Stanley with 49 calls. LFARS hosted an open house to Girl Scout Troop 744 (Nutswamp School, 4th Grade) and members Gretchen Hayes and John Kelly showed the troop the vehicles and various pieces of equipment regularly used by the Squad on emergency calls.

During April 2015, LFARS answered 47 calls and performed six duty crews. Top responders for the month of April were James Kelly 15 calls, Ryan Mullins with 14 and James Crawford with 13. LFARS’s Dive Team and the Middletown Township Dive team Task Force was able to make-up the ice rescue drill that had been previously canceled. Also in April, LFARS was the recipient of a community grant from the NJ American Water Company, and special recognition is owed to the Squad’s grants committee for all their hard work and dedication in submitting this request. LFARS also participated in two of Middletown Township’s Rude Awakening programs that seek to educate high school students and their parents about dangers of drinking and driving.

The LFARS is also pleased to announce the purchase of our new rescue truck. Over the past five years, the rescue committee worked diligently to acquire a new rescue vehicle. The age of the previous truck, coupled with the fact that there was a limited amount of free space for updated equipment made buying a truck a sound financial investment that the Squad hopes to have for many years to come. The new rescue truck was purchased from the Red Bank Fire Department (our neighbors from across the river) and has been updated to meet the needs and demands of our community. The new rescue truck is a 1995 Freightliner FL70, and the LFARS is proud to dedicate this truck in memory of Robert F. Godard, Sr. for his endless years of dedicated service. The LFARS wishes to recognize the tireless efforts of the Rescue Truck Committee without whom this truck would not have been possible (James Kelly Chairperson, James Crawford, Lindsay Ferko, Francis Hankins, Ryan Mullins and Brian Rath). This new rescue truck was purchased entirely with funds from generous donations of our residents over the past couple of years, and LFARS did not utilize any township funds in acquiring this new truck. The purchase of this new rescue truck allows LFARS to continue with our proud tradition of providing rescue services to the township, as we have done so since 1956.