The months-long rehabilitation of Ambulance  579 was declared a success on January 5, 2021, by Sgt. Ed Winsor who oversaw the project. The rig suffered a serious mechanical failure in April 2020, and the membership voted to rechassis it rather than replace it. The process involved removing the “box”, or patient compartment from its 10-year-old van chassis and remounting on a new van chassis with a more reliable, cheaper to maintain gasoline engine. This process resulted in a nearly new ambulance for approximately a third of the cost of a new ambulance.

The ambulance was towed to Siv Ambulances in Langhorne, PA, where Sergio Siv and his team of skilled craftsmen remounted it on a 2021 van chassis.  We are extremely happy not only with the quality of Sergio’s work but his attitude and work ethic and those of his craftsman.  Ambulance 579 has been first due since it came back, including through the recent snow and we are very pleased with its performance. 

Thanks go to Mattie of H’s Towing for getting our ambulance down to Langhorne.
Special thanks go out to the Borough of Fanwood, for working with us to use their Ford Fleet Code; Ora Schiff, retired from the Port Authority, for her knowledge of vehicle procurement; and to Alex Jowa, of AJ Engineering, for his knowledge of the Ford QVM program and his insight into the process. 

Union County’s vaccination program is now active for health care personnel including paid and volunteer EMT’s. You must make an appointment through the County’s registration system http://www.ucnj.org/vaccination. The County will be offering the Moderna vaccine.

Vaccinations are also available at other locations around the state including the ShopRite pharmacy in Clark. Here’s the list of designated locations around New Jersey. You’ll need to bring your EMT card and medical insurance card and fill out paperwork including a consent form. You will also be asked whether you would like to opt-in to the state database that is tracking the vaccination program. The vaccine is a two-shot series. The second shot is given 28 days later. Receiving the vaccine is voluntary for members, according to squad Captain Ian Lewis.

Union County continues to offer walk-up testing sites.