bogota volunteer first aid squad

West Main Street Bogota, New Jersey 07603

Back in October 1946, members of the Northeast Civic Association decided something should be done to aid the local physicians. The Association felt there was a definite need for an ambulance to provide transportation and equipment for the sick and injured. Bogota's Mayor at the time, John D. Lynn, had concurred in the views of the Association. He appointed a fact-finding committee to study the operations of the ambulance squads in other communities, consider the need in Bogota, and report back to the Council. Hearing an Association report that Bogota needed an ambulance corps, the Mayor and Council appointed three men to form a nucleus of such an organization: George Kennedy, Sr., Louis Ruggiero and John Finelli. After a long series of meetings, Acting Mayor H.R. Jansen inducted the first officers of the Squad on September 11, 1947. George Kennedy, Jr., one of the first officers, is still an active member today. The Squad purchased a 1948 Buick Ambulance and answered its first call at 8:00 a.m. on August 26, 1948. Over the last forty-five years, the Squad has seen many changes in the training and equipment used.

The Squad currently operates with two ambulances: a 1989 PL Custom Type III and a 1995 MedTech Saturn A Conversion Type III. The Bogota First Aid Squad averages over 700 calls a year, compared to just over 100 over the first years it was established. The Bogota First Aid Squad operates twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. It is Bogota's only emergency medical service organization. The Bogota First Aid Squad holds its monthly business meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 8:00 p.m. at Squad headquarters on Main Street.