Ridgewood EMS: A Community, A Calling

Several years ago Hilary Jones was at the Ridgewood Camera Company on East Ridgewood Avenue when she received her first call. Suddenly, a customer beside her dropped to the floor.

"There was nobody else there except the store manager," she recalls. "It just hit me that I didn't really know what to do. It was kind of that moment I thought, 'I'd like to know how to react in that situation.'"

Jones is one of 80 volunteer members of the Ridgewood Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Working nights and weekends, squads handle calls ranging from drug overdoses and stabbings to car crashes, domestic disputes, seizures, falls, complaints of breathing difficulty and countless others.

According to EMS Chief Brian Pullman, also a  sergeant in town, the EMS crews were deployed to over 1,800 calls in 2011, logging over 17,000 hours.

Some EMS members are out of work looking for jobs, and others work in towering glass offices in Lower Manhattan. Some are filling out college applications while others scrutinize their retirement plans.

They are also your neighbors. And one day they might just save your life. 

Known for its affluence, Victorian homes and bustling business district, the EMT's vantage is often decidedly grittier. There is struggle, there is pain and there is poverty behind the walls. Even in Ridgewood.

"It's like that old expression, you see how the other half live," says Jones, who also grew up in Ridgewood and has served as a past HSA president. "You are privy to a lot of difficult living situations. There are people who are struggling financially, medically and psychologically, more than you'd expect. I've been surprised by that.

"Part of the enjoyment of doing this is helping townspeople, fellow Ridgewoodites. Many are elderly and have chronic illnesses. You realize you could be that guy who's barely able to put enough food together for a meal."

"The first call was very nerve-racking," she remembers, recalling it was a panic attack. "I remember thinking, 'Oh my gosh I think I might be more panicked than she was.'" 

Always interested in medicine, Jones was able to parlay her EMS training and experience into a new career while in her 50s. She's now a registered nurse, currently seeking employment.

You'd have trouble not running into a member of the Jones clan at EMS headquarters. They're just one of the numerous families that volunteer as a collective.

Jones' son Cameron joined with his mother in '08, one of her high school-aged twins is already an EMT while the other serves as a member of the EMS Special Operations Division, with father Forrest Jones.

Special Operations

It's not the sexy stuff of network TV dramas, but Forrest Jones performs the necessary work.

A whirlwind of storms in 2011 paralyzed Ridgewood – streets burst with heavy flood water after Irene roared up the East Coast in August; thousands in October were left dodging heavy, snow-coated tree branches in the blackness.

The storms' impact could have been much worse, says Tony Lillo, Captain for the EMS Special Operations Division.

Most towns don't have a Special Operations Division, one he says is a big benefit to Ridgewood. Its work in storm management helps keep overtime costs down for other departments and also provides more manpower to deal with unsafe situations.

"It's a big benefit. What it gives the town is the ability to free up the police officers to handle the initial emergencies. We then come in behind them, close the roads or shut down intersections so the cops can move more quickly."

Special Operations responded to 314 calls in 2011.

About 15 volunteers solely do Special Operations, and the the time commitment averages to be about four hours a week, Lillo says, though hours fluctuate based on the week. EMT members shuffle over to the Special Operations side of the EMS equation when needed, creating flexibility.

"Where we need additional support is where we're standing by for something that could potentially be a mass casualty event," Lillo says, citing the Memorial Day Run as one such possibility. A bad day of weather could mean 25-30 patients simultaneously with limited ability to bring in reinforcements.

Volunteers needed

Although anyone interested in serving will not be turned away, because most 17-year-olds in the Teens In Emergency Service program (TIES) leave for college, EMS is looking for older, more grounded residents in the community that can mesh with a unique collection of demographics.

"We find there's a value in those people," says Dick Breining, who handles management coordination for the EMS and does little of the heavy lifting himself. "Experience means a whole lot. One thing a kid doesn't have is perspective. Every old person, despite how old and dumb we are, has perspective."

Public service, 'a calling'

If not for a twist of fate, Breining would likely be dead.

"I had an appointment on the 66th floor on 9/11 at 9 a.m.," he recalls. "A week earlier I changed it to 9/12, at the same time. I work for Morgan Stanley and that's where I was meeting people."

"After that," which Breining describes as eerie, "that's when I decided to get involved." 

Breining, who trained for certification with his daughter, may not be the typical member of EMS. But given the range of need for such an all-encompassing service, members aren't pigeonholed. 

"We're not exclusionary," he says. "People fit into their roles almost intuitively. If someone's willing to help, there's a position for them."

"It is very simply a family," Lillo says. "We all come from different backgrounds, different kinds of family life. Everybody pitches in and helps one another. Everyone joins together for a common goal because the patient is the ultimate concern."

The sense of camaraderie, connection and forged bonds fill a lot of voids. 

"I consider myself to be very lucky even though I've been unemployed for the last two years," says Lillo, a 53-year-old who by trade works with computers.

A seasoned EMS veteran and certified EMT, Lillo joined Ridgewood EMS over 15 years ago while working as a 911 dispatcher in the village.

These days, Lillo spends the most time at the station, helping with paperwork, checking on equipment and handling various tasks.

"Because of my age and some medical complications, I wasn't able to serve my country," he says, "Here, I can give back."

Though the range of personality types, ages, occupations and skill sets among the 80-person EMS division is great, there's one clear common strand at its headquarters on Douglas Place.

"I'll tell anyone that listens I've never found a group of people that are more willing to jump out of their foxhole into your foxhole to help you," Breining says. "If there's one thread that runs through everyone there it's a severe interest in helping for no reason other than to help."

Interested in joining? Reach EMS at membership@ridgewood911.org, or call the headquarters at Douglas Place at (201) 670-5570. Spots are available on both the EMS and Special Operations sides.