Last month proved to be another busy month for the Independence First Aid Squad, with 195 requests for service. 

Here are the responses by the municipality for February 2023:
Independence Township - 28
Liberty Township - 27
Mansfield Township- 92
Allamuchy Township – 2
Belvidere- 1
Blairstown Township- 3
Frelinghuysen Township – 5 (1 Long-term Care Facilities) 
Hackettstown – 17
Hardwick Township- 1
Hope Township – 3
Knowlton Township- 3
Washington Borough – 7
Washington Township - 3
White Township- 3

The above calls are the calls the Independence First Aid Squad was requested to respond to. The primary EMS agency or a closer mutual aid agency may have canceled our response to some of the calls we were dispatched to. 

During February 2023, the First Aid Squad had 147 patient contacts and 117 patient transports.

February 2023 Response Times (All Calls):
Average Dispatch to Responding: 3.31
Average Dispatch to Scene: 12.88

In February 2023, the Independence First Aid Squad missed 5 calls in our primary area. The following EMS Agencies handled the 5 calls:
Hackettstown First Aid and Rescue Squad- 5
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We are always looking for new volunteers to join our team. For more information, visit www.73rescue.org

Last month proved to be the busiest in the history of the Independence First Aid Squad, with 218 requests for service. It was also our first month being the primary EMS agency for the Township of Mansfield.

Here are the responses by the municipality for January 2023:
Independence Township - 42
Liberty Township - 21
Mansfield Township- 111
Allamuchy Township - 2
Blairstown Township- 2
Frelinghuysen Township – 8 (6 Long-term Care Facilities) 
Hackettstown - 17
Hope Township - 2
Oxford Township - 2
Washington Borough – 6
Washington Township - 2
White Township- 5

The above calls are the calls the Independence First Aid Squad was requested to respond to. The primary EMS agency or a closer mutual aid agency may have canceled our response to some of the calls we were dispatched to. 

During January 2023, the First Aid Squad had 193 patient contacts and 130 patient transports.
Average Dispatch to Responding: 3.19
Average Dispatch to Scene: 12.2

In January 2023, the Independence First Aid Squad missed one call in our primary area. The following EMS Agencies handled the one call:
Hackettstown First Aid and Rescue Squad- 1

In January 2023, three different training classes were held for our members, and four members started their Emergency Medical Technician Initial program.  
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We are always looking for new volunteers to join our team. For more information, visit www.73rescue.org

This past weekend 8 Independence First Aid Squad members attended the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians Tactical Emergency Casualty Care course. The Warren County Department of Public Safety and the Independence First Aid Squad sponsored this joint training course. Instructors from Saint Clare's Health made the trip to the Great Meadows Middle School to instruct the class. In addition to our eight members that attended the course, 15 members of the Warren County Rescue Taskforce and other members of local Police, Fire, and EMS agencies participated in the class. 

The Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) course teaches EMS practitioners and other prehospital providers how to respond to and care for patients in a civilian tactical environment.
The course presents the three phases of tactical care and integrates parallel EMS nomenclature:

Hot Zone/Direct Threat Care that is rendered while under attack or in adverse conditions.
Warm Zone/Indirect Threat Care that is rendered while the threat has been suppressed but may resurface at any point.
Cold Zone/Evacuation Care that is rendered while the casualty is being evacuated from the incident site. 

The 16-hour classroom course includes all new patient simulations and covers the following topics:
Hemorrhage control, including immediate action drills for tourniquet application throughout the course;
Complete coverage of the MARCH assessment;
Surgical airway control and needle decompression;
Strategies for treating wounded responders in threatening environments;
Caring for pediatric patients;
Techniques for dragging and carrying victims to safety; and
A final, mass-casualty/active shooter event simulation.

National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians TECC course is endorsed by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, is consistent with the current guidelines established by the Committee on TECC (Co-TECC), and meets all of the updated National Tactical Emergency Medical Support Competency Domains. 

The final simulation tested the students' knowledge they learned over the two-day course in a simulated active shooter scenario with over 35 "victims." We want to give a massive shout-out to Warren County Technical School for allowing students to attend our final scenario as role players. 

We want to thank all the agencies that assisted in making the final exercise as realistic as possible. The following agencies participated in the final exercise. 
Law Enforcement: 
Independence Twp. Police
Mansfield Township Police Department
Washington Township Police Department
New Jersey State Police
Phillipsburg Police Department, NJ

EMS: 
Phillipsburg Emergency Squad
Lebanon Township Fire Department
Independence First Aid Squad

Public Safety:
Warren County Department of Public Safety FIELDCOM

Once again, we would like to thank the Great Meadows Regional School District Board of Education for allowing us to use the middle school and all of the instructors from Saint Clare's Health for putting the class on for us. 

If you are interested in taking a TECC course or your agency is interested in hosting a TECC course, you can contact Clinical Supervisor Ryan Stickle at ryanstickle@primehealthcare.com for further information. 

Ryan Newkirk and Chris Hinkle took all photos.

The Independence First Aid Squad (IFAS) had a very successful first day at our second station out of Tri-County Volunteer Fire Company. IFAS handled 9 calls for service with the second station handling 3 calls. IFAS would like to thank Lieutenant Lundy and EMT Potter for being our first crew to be stationed in the Township of Mansfield. We look foward to a successful year serving our communities!
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Pictured from left to right: Chief Vazquez, Lieutenant Lundy, EMT Potter, and Deputy Chief Nicholls