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TOLVAC History The Beginning When the Community General Hospital ended their ambulance service, it became apparent that something would have to be done. The county's private ambulance service proved to be unsatisfactory as it was costly and inefficient, often taking 1-2 hours for an ambulance to arrive after the call for help. In November of 1968, the President of the Rotary Club advised his board of directors that there was a need for an ambulance service in Liberty. In January of 1969, representatives of some of the already established ambulance corps in the area were invited to the Rotary meeting to speak about their services. After this meeting, the Rotary Club approached the Village of Liberty in reference to a village ambulance corps. They were informed that there was no money available. At this time, the Rotary Club was made aware of the fact that a nurse at Community General Hospital was also trying to form an ambulance squad. The two groups met and decided to form a joint effort to create a corps. With the help of the Village of Liberty Police Chief, they were able to speak with many individuals who were anxious to start such a group. The combined group approached the Village of Liberty Fire Wardens in an effort to get them to sponsor an ambulance corps. The were turned down by the Fire Wardens. At this point it was decided to try forming a Town of Liberty ambulance service rather than a village squad. The Rotary Club had a special meeting with the Town of Liberty Board. At this meeting, the group asked the town to purchase and maintain an ambulance for the purpose of a volunteer ambulance corps. On February 5, 1969, the Town of Liberty Board notified the Rotary that they would indeed purchase the ambulance and provide the maintenance. In a resolution dated the 26th of February, 1969, the Town of Liberty Board authorized the purchase of a new ambulance through the issuance of a serial bond in the amount of $11,000. The public was informed that a local ambulance corps was being formed and 48 people signed up for charter membership at the first organizational meeting. Directors of the corps and the first trustees of the corps were chosen and the necessary legal papers were filed. The Town of Liberty Volunteer Ambulance Corps was officially incorporated on March 10, 1969. The first official meeting of TOLVAC was held on March 24th and our first officers were elected. TOLVAC's first President was David Cohen and it's first Captain was a shared venture by Richard Hering and Raymond Ward. The Co-Captains were so selected as they were the driving force in getting the corps off the ground. Operations began in the early part of March 1969 using a borrowed rig. In mid March, a 1969 Chevrolet ambulance was put into service. This was the rig that the Town of Liberty had agreed to purchase. In addition to the ambulance, the corps also needed supplies and TOLVAC's first fund drive was started. The hospitals in the area were very helpful in providing supplies, linens, and meeting space. A local oil distributor provided all the gas and oil the rig needed. Even a two way radio for the ambulance was donated. With the efforts of our charter members, we were off the ground running. In our fifth month, we ran our 200th call. TOLVAC's response time averaged 7 1/2 minutes from the time the call was received, a dramatic improvement over services in the past.
Additional History |
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Below are some additional important dates and events in the history of the Town of Liberty Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
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© 2010 Town of Liberty Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Inc. 178 Mill Street Liberty, NY 12754
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