Second Alarmers Rescue Squad wants to teach teens
The Second Alarmers Rescue Squad is in a tough spot. With a high turnover rate, the organization is constantly seeking volunteers. In addition to its volunteers leaving, it has to compete with ambulance providers that pay. The organization is hoping that its Venture Crew program will help drum up some new recruits.
Venture Crew is a modern interpretation of the Exploring, a worksite-based experiential learning program for teens that began in the 1930s. Meeting every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Second Alarmers’ Willow Grove Station, at 307 Davisville Road, the program teaches 14- to 20-year-old men and women first aid skills, CPR, ground searches, and industrial, automobile and water rescue. Second Alarmers Unit Commissioner Michael Balot said the program is a good way to get your foot in the door.
“The ambulance business has become primarily paid, but we’re looking for volunteers,” Balot said. “Second Alarmers is a good place for somebody who’s 16, 17 or 18 to find a career. You start as a volunteer, and they train you to become an EMT. [If] you hang out long enough, they’ll train you to become a paramedic — it’s a career path.”
A prospective Second Alarmers volunteer must be at least 18 years old, though some stay in the Venture Crew program through high school and college.
Second Alarmers President Bill Crielly acknowledges the high volunteer turnover in the organization.
“Typically, young people join at 18, and continue for four or five years, meet the love of their life and get married. That generally takes them away from us for 15, 20 years,” Crielly said. “We are the premiere provider of and largest squad of emergency medical services, handling 12,000 calls per year,” Crielly said. “Without constant recruiting, we will be in trouble.”
The Second Alarmers is the primary ambulance provider to Upper Moreland, Abington, Upper Dublin, Jenkintown, Rockledge, Whitpain and Hatboro, and it is the secondary provider to the surrounding communities. The organization is funded primarily through billing from ambulance calls, and receives donations. Crielly said the organization gets little help from the municipalities it serves.
Now, the Venture Crew has about two members, as some volunteers have graduated from high school and college and have moved away. Crielly said the Venture Crew needs at least five members to keep the program alive, and concedes that the organization needs to be more aggressive in recruiting members.
The Second Alarmers operate out of stations in Elkins Park, Hatboro, North Hills, Whitpane and Willow Grove, and comprises 12 intensive life support vehicles, and is on call 24/7.
“We think Venture Crew is an important source of employees,” Balot said. For more information on the program, call 215-659-1885, ext. 380.
Venture Crew is a modern interpretation of the Exploring, a worksite-based experiential learning program for teens that began in the 1930s. Meeting every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Second Alarmers’ Willow Grove Station, at 307 Davisville Road, the program teaches 14- to 20-year-old men and women first aid skills, CPR, ground searches, and industrial, automobile and water rescue. Second Alarmers Unit Commissioner Michael Balot said the program is a good way to get your foot in the door.
“The ambulance business has become primarily paid, but we’re looking for volunteers,” Balot said. “Second Alarmers is a good place for somebody who’s 16, 17 or 18 to find a career. You start as a volunteer, and they train you to become an EMT. [If] you hang out long enough, they’ll train you to become a paramedic — it’s a career path.”
A prospective Second Alarmers volunteer must be at least 18 years old, though some stay in the Venture Crew program through high school and college.
Second Alarmers President Bill Crielly acknowledges the high volunteer turnover in the organization.
“Typically, young people join at 18, and continue for four or five years, meet the love of their life and get married. That generally takes them away from us for 15, 20 years,” Crielly said. “We are the premiere provider of and largest squad of emergency medical services, handling 12,000 calls per year,” Crielly said. “Without constant recruiting, we will be in trouble.”
The Second Alarmers is the primary ambulance provider to Upper Moreland, Abington, Upper Dublin, Jenkintown, Rockledge, Whitpain and Hatboro, and it is the secondary provider to the surrounding communities. The organization is funded primarily through billing from ambulance calls, and receives donations. Crielly said the organization gets little help from the municipalities it serves.
Now, the Venture Crew has about two members, as some volunteers have graduated from high school and college and have moved away. Crielly said the Venture Crew needs at least five members to keep the program alive, and concedes that the organization needs to be more aggressive in recruiting members.
The Second Alarmers operate out of stations in Elkins Park, Hatboro, North Hills, Whitpane and Willow Grove, and comprises 12 intensive life support vehicles, and is on call 24/7.
“We think Venture Crew is an important source of employees,” Balot said. For more information on the program, call 215-659-1885, ext. 380.
