West Side Hatzoloh Volunteer Ambulance Corps
- Thread starter firedude
- Start date
badge22
Member
I am trying to under stand how things work in NY. When you call 911, do you get like a choice? Press 1 for Hatzoloh, 2 for FDNY EMS, 3 for one of the 50 hospital ambulances...I don't get how all these services are dispatched. Can someone chime in and explain?
I have a lot of pics of this install. The install was done by Securely Yours, the best installer in NYC by far. Now that blue is legal they should put some blue to the rear. He made a custom mount for the intersection M7 so it wouldnt light up the sky since the front panel is on a slant. Great job Duvy as usual. I dont know why he didnt have the duel siren tone on.
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badge22 said:
When you call 911 you will get FDNY or one of the 911 hospital ambulances that are private. There are many private ambulances part of the NYC 911 system. These ambulances are on the same channel as FDNY EMS and are dispatched by the same dispatcher. If you want Hatzolah or any other private volly or paid service you need to call them direct.
VolEms said:
Thats a very simple way to explain a very complex system. Hatozlah also listens to scaners from they command center and will dispatch crews that way. Most of the jewish community has a local Hatozlah # saved in their phones.
firedude said:
Hatzolah does not and never has "buffed" calls from scanners. They get hundreds of thousands of calls a year, they don't need to get them from the EMS radios. Hatzolah has an emergency 7 digit number that the local community is taught from kindergarten. All their calls come from that (barring standby events, etc.)
maybe duvy, can chime in , since he is a member and lurks lol
duvy, add blue !!!!
he is the best installer in NYC hands down, but make sure you dont bend over ....and bring a blank check lol
duvy, add blue !!!!
he is the best installer in NYC hands down, but make sure you dont bend over ....and bring a blank check lol
timlinson
New Member
Respondcode3 said:
They're always available, EMTs respond to the scene. In the priceless video, there was about 7 POVs parked along the.street.
dovy6 said:
I've seen scaners installed in Hatzolah POVs and other rigs so I assumed that they buff'd some call in thir district. Didn't know that they tought kids the number in kindergarden.
Quick question, what happens on saturdays and religious holidays. Do they still run? Although I'm not in a hatozlah area, I'm part jewish. I'm very happy with what they do.
firedude said:
Hatzolah does not dispatch calls that do not come through their hotline. Member might have scanners in their POVs that they listen to, but will not respond over.
When a call comes in on a Saturday or religious holiday (when otherwise Jews may not drive) the religion permits them to respond.
Harbor Patrol
Member
when an organization runs about 50,000 calls a year on their own in NY, i dont think theres a need or the time to buff scanner jobs
lafd55
Member
They may have alot of POV and EMT's but what happens if they run out of ambulances to transport?
bwoodruff
Member
Respondcode3 said:
Just a shot in the dark, but I would guess they'd call for mutual aid from FDNY? I don't think that is a common occurrence though. They have a lot of resources, if you couldn't tell by the install on this POV.
Steve0625
Member
Respondcode3 said:
bwoodruff said:
Their website says they have over 1,000 volunteer EMT's and Paramedics answering over 250,000 calls a year with a fleet of more than 70 ambulances. I don't see that "running out of ambulances" or any other resources is much of an issue for them.
bwoodruff said:
Correct, in the rare occurance that they cannot cover a call they call the FDNY Mutual Aid Desk
they dont have all 70 ambulances in one garage! They have a certain amount of busses in each neighborhood. If, for instance, someone takes the last bus in the Flatbush garage, they will send a bus or two from Boro Park to stand by at the Flatbush garage until busses return from their calls. Hatzolah has a better response time than FDNY does on average to calls within their primary district.
badge22
Member
If FDNY and several hospital/privates are in the City's 911 system how is it decided which ambulance makes the call? Is the City divided into districts or zones? I'm just curious as to why FDNY wouldn't cover the whole City and yes, I know it's big. Houston used to be divided into zones that where run by privates/funeral homes but that was back in the 1960's. Houston Fire took over all EMS in @ 1971. If you call 911 around here you're going to get HFD EMS assuming you're within the Houston city limits. Just curious....
Once again, if you call 911 you will get a 911 ambulance. Either an FDNY EMS rig or if they have a contract in that area one of the other services that are a part of FDNY EMS. If you'd like Hatzolah you have to call them directly.
lafd55
Member
This is kinda off topic from this but kinda related. Most if not all EMS agencies involved with FDNY 911 dispatching have a special Patch stating this on their ambulance. As far as I know Hatzalah is not affiliated in any way with this program and is a private entity that only does transports that are received via a local telephone number depending on where in the city they are and catered specifically to the Jewish community. Hatzalah ambulances are all over the world in almost every continent...
FDNY EMS Participating 911 Ambulance Seal:
[Broken External Image]:http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt272/lafd55/fdny_ems_participating_member.jpg
FDNY EMS Participating 911 Ambulance Seal:
[Broken External Image]:http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt272/lafd55/fdny_ems_participating_member.jpg
Yes, they treat jews and non-jews alike. The better response time really depends on where you are. In the heart of Boro Park, Brooklyn, yes, the response time will beat FDNY. In East New York? IDK.
EDIT: Full disclosure, I am NOT a member of Hatzolah and am NOT speaking on their behalf. I am just posting what I know as a member of the Jewish community.
EDIT: Full disclosure, I am NOT a member of Hatzolah and am NOT speaking on their behalf. I am just posting what I know as a member of the Jewish community.
FireEMSPolice
Member
36TruckK
Member
lafd55
Member
arsenal10
Member
"Hatzolah uses a fly-car system, where members are assigned ad-hoc to respond to the emergency. The dispatcher requests any units for a particular emergency location. Members who think they will have best response times respond via handheld radios, and the dispatcher confirms the appropriate members. Two members will typically respond directly to the call in their private vehicles. A third member retrieves an ambulance from a base location.
Each directly-dispatched Hatzolah volunteer has a full medical technician "jump kit," in their car, with oxygen, trauma, and appropriate pharmaceutical supplies. Paramedic (EMT-P) members carry more extensive equipment and supplies, including EKG, IV, injection, intubation, and more pharmaceuticals. Each volunteer is called a Unit (as in, a crew of one), and is assigned a unit number that starts with a neighborhood code, followed by a serial number for that neighborhood (e.g., "F-100" means "Flatbush unit number 100"). Ambulances also have unit numbers in the same format, with the first few numbers for each neighborhood reserved for the ambulance numbers. Some neighborhoods have begun to assign 3-digit unit numbers to their ambulances, using numbers out of the range assigned to human member units (e.g. 900-numbers).
In some areas there may be periods where coverage is not strong enough, for example on a summer weekend. When this happens, coordinators may assign an on-call rotation. The rotation may still respond from their houses, or they may stay at the garage through their shift. In such periods, Hatzoloh functions closer to a typical EMS crew setup, though the dispatchers may still seek non-on-call members to respond, and there will still often be a non-ambulance responder as first dispatched, even if that responder starts from the base.
Hatzolah's model provides for speedy first responder response times. Each Hatzolah neighborhood's response time varies. For example, in Borough Park, Brooklyn daytime response time averages under 2 minutes, every night from 11:30-5:30 there are 2 units assigned to be on stand by in the garage in case of an emergency. Night time average is also under 2 minutes. In the Beverly-La Brea neighborhood of Los Angeles response times average at sixty to ninety seconds."
I have never experienced Hatzolah first hand, but from what I've read and heard about they do quite a decent job with their response times. I love their idea of using a fly car system and response operations as a whole.
On another note, I'm surprised at their use of full light bars and red and white coloring as they are volunteers. I'm used to the blue for fire and green for medics in NY. Not sure where they stand on the spectrum of lighting laws.
Each directly-dispatched Hatzolah volunteer has a full medical technician "jump kit," in their car, with oxygen, trauma, and appropriate pharmaceutical supplies. Paramedic (EMT-P) members carry more extensive equipment and supplies, including EKG, IV, injection, intubation, and more pharmaceuticals. Each volunteer is called a Unit (as in, a crew of one), and is assigned a unit number that starts with a neighborhood code, followed by a serial number for that neighborhood (e.g., "F-100" means "Flatbush unit number 100"). Ambulances also have unit numbers in the same format, with the first few numbers for each neighborhood reserved for the ambulance numbers. Some neighborhoods have begun to assign 3-digit unit numbers to their ambulances, using numbers out of the range assigned to human member units (e.g. 900-numbers).
In some areas there may be periods where coverage is not strong enough, for example on a summer weekend. When this happens, coordinators may assign an on-call rotation. The rotation may still respond from their houses, or they may stay at the garage through their shift. In such periods, Hatzoloh functions closer to a typical EMS crew setup, though the dispatchers may still seek non-on-call members to respond, and there will still often be a non-ambulance responder as first dispatched, even if that responder starts from the base.
Hatzolah's model provides for speedy first responder response times. Each Hatzolah neighborhood's response time varies. For example, in Borough Park, Brooklyn daytime response time averages under 2 minutes, every night from 11:30-5:30 there are 2 units assigned to be on stand by in the garage in case of an emergency. Night time average is also under 2 minutes. In the Beverly-La Brea neighborhood of Los Angeles response times average at sixty to ninety seconds."
I have never experienced Hatzolah first hand, but from what I've read and heard about they do quite a decent job with their response times. I love their idea of using a fly car system and response operations as a whole.
On another note, I'm surprised at their use of full light bars and red and white coloring as they are volunteers. I'm used to the blue for fire and green for medics in NY. Not sure where they stand on the spectrum of lighting laws.
timlinson
New Member
They register responder's POVs as NY emergency vehicles, so they can run red lights, use sirens, and break standard traffic laws in accordance with the NYS VAT.
FireEMSPolice
Member
Geez! Some people got their panties in a twist over my comment to alter the design.
Not that I care really. I am sure some people would rather see that to remind them of the painful day (I almost lost my uncle in one of the towers). I just like to keep things current, and that isnt the current skyline. Just saying.
Not that I care really. I am sure some people would rather see that to remind them of the painful day (I almost lost my uncle in one of the towers). I just like to keep things current, and that isnt the current skyline. Just saying.
FireEMSPolice said:
And as someone who literally breathed in the smoke and ash, and could smell the pile buring for weeks after they crashed, i can tell you i want those towers on that patch, and i hate when they doctor old movies to edit out the Towers. Was it a painful time for this country? Yeah, and it was even worse for those who lived and worked in NY and NJ and had to smell that for months after, but its a constant reminder of whats out there.
As far as Hatzolah goes, we have 2 separate branches of this group in my section of the state and we work with them on occasion. They have ambulances staffed at a central building, and then EMT-Bs that respond direct in their POVs. While the paid guys who staff the Ambulances are great, very knowledgeable and quality providers, the POVs are a pain. Their dispatchers just ask for any available unit, so there are time when the POVs are parked all over the street and prevent the actual Ambulance and the local PD from getting down the street. Its kinda annoying.
As far as them running red lights, NY and NJ are similar in you can register your vehicle with the State as an emergency vehicle as log as it carries a certain set of equipment and is registered as such. Thats why some Hatzolah run the blue courtesy light, because its just a volunteer responding with maybe atrauma kit, and other have full RL&S because they carry O2, Lifepaks, AEDS, ect.
arsenal10 said:
I can't imagine what their CA response times are like in heavy traffic, though. Here, they need to be registered as a private EMS with "agency-owned" vehicles, as there's no possible way they are getting RL&S on POV's in the State of California. Anyone have any details on this?
d119 said:
I believe that Hatzolah in LA has a handful of RL&S permited cars that are owned by the agency.
dovy6 said:
That would make sense. I know they have a fairly strong presence in the Beverly Hills/Pico area...
TheGatekeeper
Member
lafd55
Member
Yea, they are all over the world.... Mexico, Russia, Australia, Europe, Africa, Israel, and Canada...
Hatzalah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hatzalah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia