MANSFIELD TOWNSHIP, NJ (Warren County) – Mansfield Emergency Medical Services, Inc. will no longer be providing first aid services to township residents due to extenuating circumstances, according to the Mansfield Township Committee.
IFAS was named the primary EMS agency for Mansfield Township through township ordinance on December 14, after the township approached IFAS to establish a plan to increase adequate EMS staffing for the township, according to Independence Township First Aid Squad Chief Nicholas Vazquez.
Independence First Aid Squad (IFAS) will be housing an ambulance at the Tri-County Fire Company, located at 1720 Route 57, and will be staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. by IFAS, the committee said.
During the other hours, the ambulance will be available to volunteers to respond if needed. IFAS will still be staffing an ambulance to respond to calls from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. at their station in Independence to respond to calls as needed, the committee said.
As of January 1, 2023, the Independence First Aid Squad will be the primary EMS agency for Mansfield Township, the committee said.
“Without the hard work and dedication of the Mansfield Township Committee, IFAS membership, IFAS career staff, the support of the Independence Township and Liberty Township Committees, this would have never been possible,” the committee said.
While IFAS will be answering EMS calls, it also brings about more opportunities for the community. Currently IFAS has held free movie nights, training classes such as CPR for the community and their public safety partners, holiday toy drives, stand-by service for local school events and many more, the committee said.
“We are extremely grateful for our community and for this amazing opportunity. We look at this as a great step in the right direction to better serve people in our communities,” the committee said.
Year to date, for 2022, IFAS has been dispatched to 114 calls for service in Mansfield Township with an average dispatch to on-scene time of 15 minutes, Vazquez said.
“Additionally, most of the calls for service IFAS has handled in Mansfield Township have been handled as a 3rd due or staffed agency response. This means IFAS was not requested to respond to the incident for more than 12 minutes after the initial primary EMS agency was dispatched, drastically delaying patient care,” Vazquez said.
IFAS will add an additional staffed Basic Life Support ambulance in Mansfield Township during the peak call volume to reduce response times and ensure adequate staffing for all of the townships they service, Vazquez said.
“Our staffed ambulance that will be placed in Mansfield Township is estimated to handle 65-70% of the call volume in Mansfield Township,” Vazquez said.
Year to date, for 2022, IFAS has been dispatched to 1,469 calls for service, Vazquez said.
“While 2022 has been our busiest year, we have provided a 99% response rate to our primary area. Year to date, we have missed 15 calls for service in our primary response area,” Vazquez said.
“Adding Mansfield Township to our coverage area will not change the services IFAS currently provides to Independence and Liberty Townships,” Vazquez said.
