East Brunswick Rescue Squad Abruptly Shuts Down

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The East Brunswick Rescue Squad abruptly shut down, effective 6 a.m. Monday morning, April 1.

The squad announced the news on Facebook. Until today, the mostly-volunteer squad had been in operation since 1952, and provided the emergency medical services for East Brunswick residents.

Many lamented the news as yet another volunteer agency that succumbed to plummeting rates of volunteerism, a problem being felt across the state and nationwide: These days, many suburban fire houses and ambulance squads throughout New Jersey are struggling to find volunteer members. However, East Brunswick Rescue Squad also owes the Township of East Brunswick a considerable amount of money, and was the subject of litigation from the Township.

A few years back, the rescue squad borrowed money from the Township to pay for ambulance upgrades and radio equipment improvements, but to date, has still not paid it back. In 2018, East Brunswick Twp. sued the rescue squad to try and recoup some of its money.

"To date, they owe us approximately $106,000, including interest," said Joe Criscuolo, township administrator. "They've made some payments, but not all of it. We filed suit because they failed to pay us. The Township is the one on the hook to repay that money, because we borrowed it to begin with."

"(The squad) borrowed money from the Township to provide their service, the same way the fire departments and the Board of Education does," he continued. "But the fire departments and Board of Ed. pay it back. They didn't. Meanwhile, they (the rescue squad) have been charging residents for providing emergency services for them."

For the past few years, East Brunswick Rescue Squad had been providing the ambulance services for East Brunswick at night and on the weekends. St. Peter's University Hospital, a professional service, provided EMT services during the daytime hours.

Providing ambulance services for a community can be highly sought after because — as anyone who's ever called an ambulance knows — EMT and ambulance services are expensive.

The contract East Brunswick has with St. Peter's is coming to an end soon, and the Township opened it up to public bidding for new providers. St. Peter's and other local hospitals, such as Robert Wood Johnson, will likely put in bids for it. However, a new EMT provider has not yet been selected, both Criscuolo and East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen said.

East Brunswick Twp. will be announcing their new EMS provider on April 16. It will likely be one single provider that will provide the services around the clock, 24/7. St. Peter's will provide the full-time coverage, on nights and weekends, until a new vendor is announced April 16.

East Brunswick Rescue Squad did not put in a bid to be selected, squad Chief Andrew Reid said in a public letter announcing the closure.

A call to the rescue squad was not returned. However, Chief Reid said the following in his public letter:

"The maintenance and upkeep of EBRS has been an absolute battle. We have all accomplished great things, and you have all shown your ability to be professionals; and your dedication is a lesson to the rest of the EMS community. Politics on the other hand are a different animal, and no matter what we do as an agency, we will never fully succeed. This has been proven on many levels that I will not discuss in this message, as I don't want to detract from the core of my message. This decision is as a direct result of various litigation, finance and personnel availability. For everyone reading this message, please understand that we as an administration have absolutely exhausted all avenues, and this (closure) is the only solution. "