When someone has persistent chest pains or difficulty breathing.
When you think someone is badly injured.
When in doubt!
CALL YOUR VOLLIES IN EMERGENCIES
The Gerrittsen Beach Fire Department is on call for the community 24/7, we know this community. We respond to most emergencies within 3 or 4 minutes which is quicker than other New York City services as our ambulance and fire engine do not leave our area. We also have a Mutual Aid agreement with New York City FDNY services. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are available by dialing 718-332-3333. All calls made will go directly to one of our 24/7 dispatchers.
CLOSE CALLS
Sometimes it’s hard to decide whether to call for an ambulance instead of driving to an emergency room yourself. The basic rule is: When in doubt, call the Vollies at 718-332-3333. If you are not sure what to do, you can make a better decision by asking yourself the following questions:
Does the victim’s condition seem to be life-threatening?
Could moving the victim on your own cause further injury?
Does the victim need the skills or equipment of a paramedic or an emergency medical technician?
Would the distance or traffic conditions cause a significant delay in getting the victim to an emergency room?
Could the victim’s condition worsen and become life-threatening on your way to the emergency room?
WHEN YOU CALL, KNOW WHAT TO SAY
The information you give the emergency dispatch operator helps us help you:
Stay calm, speak clearly, and stay on the phone until the emergency operator tells you to hang up.
Tell the emergency dispatch operator WHERE to find the person needing emergency care. Give the exact location: use an address or nearby landmarks like intersections or buildings that will help the ambulance driver find you.
Make sure your house numbers are visible from the street, both day and night, BEFORE there is an emergency.
Tell the emergency dispatch operator WHO is hurt or sick and WHAT happened. The operator will also need to know the current condition of the victim and if any assistance is being given.
WHAT TO DO UNTIL HELP ARRIVES
Follow any instructions you have been given by the emergency dispatch operator.
Do NOT try to move someone who is injured unless they are in danger.
DO try to keep a victim as warm as possible.
If someone else is with you, send them to meet the ambulance.
Make it easy for the ambulance driver to spot you by turning on a porch light or marking your location with a flare or bright cloth.
Our Boundaries
West – Beginning at the south side of Whitney and Knapp to Gerritsen.
East side of Gerritsen including Resurrection to Stuart and Burnett St.
WHEN NOT TO CALL
Do NOT call The Vollies if:
You need a hospital to hospital transport or hospital to home transport. We cannot do transports at this time because we have only one ambulance that must be saved for emergencies.
You need transportation to a doctor’s appointment.
To get a prescription filled.
To seek treatment for minor cuts or abrasions.
To get quicker attention in the emergency room. Emergency room patients are treated in the order of the severity of their illness or injury, therefor, arriving via ambulance may not afford you faster medical treatment.
Calling The Vollies activates an entire network of highly-trained emergency medical workers that are New York State Certified By the Department of Health. Their time and expertise are valuable and are equal to the New York City Emergency Medical Technicians.
It is Often called the silent killer, carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel can be sources of carbon monoxide.
CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for placement and mounting height.
Choose a CO alarm that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
Call 718-332-9292 to find out what number to call if the CO alarm sounds.
Test CO alarms at least once a month; replace them according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
If the audible trouble signal sounds, check for low batteries. If the battery is low, replace it. If it still sounds, call the fire department.
If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the home is accounted for. Call 718-332-3333 for help from a fresh air location and stay there until emergency personnel.
If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow.
During and after a snowstorm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, and fireplace are clear of snow build-up.
A generator should be used in a well-ventilated location outdoors away from windows, doors and vent openings.
Gas or charcoal grills can produce CO — only use outside.
Members of the Gerrittsen Beach Fire Department display blue lights in the front of the vehicles while responding to emergencies. You can help us improve our response times by yielding the right of way when it is safe to do so.
In New York State, a flashing blue light indicates a volunteer firefighter responding to an alarm. Although it is not mandatory to yield the right-of-way, to a vehicle with a flashing blue light, it is a common courtesy extended to our local volunteer firefighters.
Vehicles with blue lights are not emergency vehicles. The drivers must obey all traffic laws.
Remember, if you can do so safely, you should yield the right of way. We are responding to members of the community, next time it may be you, your friends or family in need of assistance.
Halloween is a time for ghouls, goblins, and witches. It is one night of the year where kids can dress in their favorite costume and journey around their neighborhood for candy. Let’s avoid the occurrences of villains in neighborhoods – not the villains in costume, but the individuals who take advantage of the Halloween celebration to commit mischief and vandalism.
This year, we encourage all residents to have a safe and fun Halloween. Neighborhoods that have used the following recommended actions have reported a drastic decline in incidents of mischief and vandalism:
Halloween is for Children in Costumes
To minimize the security risks that occur when older kids go door-to-door until late at night, a cut-off time of 8:00 PM for trick-or-treating is recommended.
Do Not Turn Off Your Lights and Pretend You Are Not Home
This is an open invitation for vandalism and mischief. Instead, keep your house well lit and post a sign that you are out of candy.
A Strong Adult Presence Will Serve as a Deterrent to Potential Mischief
Work with your block club or neighbors to have some adults patrol your neighborhood with flashlights in “strolling neighborhood watch teams,” while other adults sit outside on their porches. Should you see any suspicious activity, call 911. Do not attempt to handle the situation yourself.
We wish you and your family a safe and fun Halloween.
We have been doig a lot of work sprucing up the Firehouse and Hall the last few months and now we need some additional help. Possibly your help. We are looking for Plumbers, Piping and Heating, Carpenters, Roofers, anyone that can help us tackle a few of the larger projects we have.
Specifically the Firehouse roof and ceiling is in need of repair, and the firehouse and hall bathrooms need to be redone.
By donating your time and service you will be giving back to the community and helping Gerritsen Beach stay a strong community.
Please stop by anytime, email donations@gbfd.net, or call 718-332-9292.
If you extracted someone from a car crash you would simply remove the patient from the car. Because of the injuries patients suffer in vehicle collisions, it is necessary to extricate them, or remove the car from around the patient. This past month we drilled on extrication.
The basic extrication process consists of, but is not limited to, six steps:
the protection of the accident scene, to avoid a risk of another collision (marking out the scene with cones or flares (not advisable if gasoline is leaking), lighting) and of fire (e.g. switching off the ignition, putting vehicle in park, disconnecting the battery, placing absorbing powder on oil and gasoline pools, fire extinguisher and fire hose ready to use) ;
patient triage and initial medical assessment of the patient by qualified medical rescuer;
securing the vehicle, to prevent the unexpected movement, and the movements of the suspension, either of which could cause an unstable trauma wound or cause injury to the rescuers);
the opening of the vehicle and the deformation of the structure (such as removing a window) to allow the intervention of a first responder, of a paramedic or of a physician inside the vehicle to better assess the patient and begin care and also to release a possible pressure on the casualty;
removal of a section of the vehicle (usually the roof or door) to allow for safe removal of the accident victim, especially respecting the head-neck-back axis;
