Ogdensburg Rescue Squad Welcomes New Ambulance

BY BRIAN KIDWELL (Originally Featured in The Ogdensburg Journal)

The Ogdensburg Volunteer Rescue Squad has a new set of wheels to assist the organization in providing emergency services to the area.

OVRS_ambulance_2


The squad took delivery last week of a custom-built ambulance mounted on a 2009 Ford F-450 chassis. The ambulance was built for the squad by PL Custom Emergency Vehicles, New Jersey. It replaces a nine-year-old model but will carry on its official call sign number, A-243. The vehicle cost $167,000, according to Squad President Colin M. Sayer. It was paid for by the squad and donations.

The older ambulance was taken back by PL Custom for $12,500.
"We liked the way it (the new ambulance) was built," said Mr. Sayer.

Founded in 1961, the squad is located in a 5,000-square-foot building at 100 State Street, overlooking the Greenbelt and the St. Lawrence River beyond Riverside Drive. The squad hopes to build a new, larger headquarters on a 25-acre plot of land that it owns south of the city on Route 812 near the Route 37 overpass. The squad currently has 62 members.

 

The new ambulance joins a motor pool that consists of two Ford ambulances, a Chevrolet emergency 'crash' truck and Chevrolet Tahoe 'fly car' backup vehicle.

 
 

Taking Precautions - H1N1 Flu

 

Is 2009 H1N1 virus contagious?
The 2009 H1N1 virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human.

How does 2009 H1N1 virus spread?
Spread of 2009 H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something – such as a surface or object – with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people?
The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Severe illnesses and deaths have occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.

How severe is illness associated with 2009 H1N1 flu virus?
Illness with 2009 H1N1 virus has ranged from mild to severe. While most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infection with this virus have occurred.

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?
This season, there is a seasonal flu vaccine to protect against seasonal flu viruses and a 2009 H1N1 vaccine to protect against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus (sometimes called “swine flu”). A flu vaccine is the first and most important step in protecting against flu infection. For information about the 2009 H1N1 vaccines, visit H1N1 Flu Vaccination Resources. For information about seasonal influenza vaccines, visit Preventing Seasonal Flu With Vaccination.

There are also everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like the flu.

Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.*
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
  • Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

Other important actions that you can take are:

  • Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
  • Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home for a week or so; a supply of over-the-counter medicines, alcohol-based hand rubs * (for when soap and water are not available), tissues and other related items could help you to avoid the need to make trips out in public while you are sick and contagious.

 

For more information visit the CDC web site for H1N1.
 

Artist Rendition: Ogdensburg's New Rescue Squad


The Ogdensburg Volunteer Rescue Squad is moving forward with plans to leave its crowded State Street station. Above is the artist rendition of the new station house that will be located on a 25 acre plot of land between routes 812 and 37.

 


Ogdensburg Rescue Squad Moves Forward With Station Plans


By This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
WATERTOWN TIMES STAFF WRITER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Volunteer Rescue Squad is moving forward with plans to leave its crowded State Street station.

Plans to build a larger station on a 25-acre plot of land between Routes 812 and 37 are being developed by Mitchell Associates Architects, Albany, for $25,000. According to OVRS Director of Operations Kenneth J. Gardner, the main requirement for the new facility is that it is larger than the current 5,000-square-foot facility.

"We're kind of squeezed into the building that we're in at this time," Mr. Gardner said. "Our services continue to grow and we have more and more equipment that needs to be stored. We're just pretty much out of room."

Over the past year membership has jumped from about 55 to 62 volunteers and paid staffers. This has strained the facility and forced the squad to train outside and hold meeting in the Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center auditorium, Mr. Gardner said.

"We're one of the few in New York state that has continued to grow in numbers instead of decrease," Mr. Gardner said. "We need to have our own training facility. To stay current and as good as our people are, we train a lot."

The squad paid $250,000 for the 25-acre plot last year with interest from endowment funds donated to the squad. The OVRS also is using the interest to cover the costs of designing soil testing for the project, but officials hope to pay for the complex, expected to cost several million, with grants and fundraisers.

The squad has occupied the State Street station since the 1970s. Mr. Gardner said the OVRS board is still discussing what might be done with the building and property when the new station opens.

"There has been talk that should it ever come we would consider holding on to the building for our water rescue and extrication," he said. "But there's been discussion both ways, one that we release it and the other that we maintain it for training purposes."