The Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps (HVAC or Hoboken EMS) is the primary 911 EMS provider in

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

, and the only full-time all-volunteer ambulance provider in

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

. The Corps responds to nearly 5000 calls for service yearly in Hoboken and, as needed, in neighboring areas.

History

The Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps was initially formed in the early 1970s to augment the existing emergency medical response, which involved a police officer picking up a doctor from then- St. Mary's Hospital and driving them to the location of the call. The Corps was incorporated in 1971 with fourteen members and an ambulance purchased from Avenel Volunteer First Aid Squad. In the first year, the Corps responded to 648 calls, in 2011, they responded to nearly 5000.

Hurricane Sandy

In late October 2012, when much of the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

was devastated by

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

, the Corps engaged in a multiple-week-long operation to support the city of Hoboken in its state of emergency. Despite widespread flooding leaving large parts of the city inaccessible even to the largest rescue vehicles, the Corps coordinated an effort to evacuate the low-lying

Hoboken University Medical Center Hoboken University Medical Center is a community hospital located in Hoboken, New Jersey with 190 beds. It was founded in 1863 as St. Mary Hospital and operated under that name until 2007. The hospital is owned by Hudson Hospital Opco, known as C ...

of its 131 patients, was forced to evacuate its building and base of operations when threatened by flooding, established a field hospital in a gym on nearby

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

, and logged over 5,000 person-hours to respond to almost 600 calls for service in the initial eight-day period. Due to extremely heavy call volume, the city of Hoboken was supported by its neighboring communities, by an ALS "strike team" consisting of five ambulances deployed from Pennsylvania, and by elements of the 2nd Battalion 113th Infantry

New Jersey Army National Guard The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germ ...

. The Corps was initially forced to use front loaders to evacuate patients from flooded areas, and later used Army National Guard cargo trucks to transport patients to waiting ambulances. Due to the storm and its aftereffects, the Corps lost four vehicles to flooding, including two of its three front line ambulances, a special operations disaster support truck, and a mobile communications bus. The Corps also suffered damage to their building and lost supplies and equipment.Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps...Lost Four Vehicles During Storm - TheBoken.com
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Currently

The Corps continues to staff BLS ambulances 24/7. ALS services are provided by

Jersey City Medical Center The Jersey City Medical Center is a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. The hospital has had different facilities in the city. It is currently located on a 15-acre campus at Grand Street and Jersey Avenue overlooking New York Harbor and Libe ...

. The Corps also provides additional staff for special events and major emergencies, such as Hoboken's Italian Festival, major parades, and other days of expected major activity. The squad also supports and is supported by its neighbors through informal mutual aid agreements with neighboring Jersey City, Bayonne,

Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

, and Union City.

Vehicles

The Corps maintains four fully equipped BLS ambulances. The vehicles are type III ambulances. These vehicles are rotated through for the day-to-day operations of the Corps. These vehicles carry AEDs, oxygen, glucose, epinephrine auto injectors (more commonly known as

EpiPen An epinephrine autoinjector (or adrenaline autoinjector, also known by the trademark EpiPen) is a medical device for injecting a measured dose or doses of epinephrine (adrenaline) by means of autoinjector technology. It is most often used for t ...

s), bandaging and splinting supplies, and transportation equipment. The four ambulances carry the fleet numbers 921, 922, 923 and 618, however these vehicles are all marked as 134, the Corps' radio

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

. The Corps also maintains a supervisor SUV, used for incident command staff as well as general Corps business, several equipment trailers, two mass-casualty response units with specialized equipment for prolonged and mass-casualty incidents, a field communications truck, a golf cart with limited medical supplies, and several bicycles.

Communications

The Corps uses the same frequencies as the

Hoboken Police Department Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

for their primary dispatch, however are also able to use their "D1" frequency for internal communications, contacting mutual aid, and for primary dispatch at major emergencies or incidents where the standard police frequency is congested with police traffic. To support major incidents, the Corps' radio communication personnel are able to use the Field Communications bus or work with the city Emergency Operations Center to coordinate local Police, EMS, and Fire as well as outside agencies who may be responding to a major incident.

Special Operations

The Corps provides a response to all fires and other major emergencies, including on-scene triage and multiple ambulances for transport. The Corps will also mobilize for events such as the Mother's Day 2011 PATH train crash, the "Miracle on the Hudson", when a US Airways flight crash-landed into the Hudson River, the city's yearly St. Patrick's day festivities,For Hoboken, a Day of Revelry Is Overwhelmed by Lawlessness - NY Times
/ref> the 2016 NJ Transit train crash and operated throughout