By John VoketThe Newtown Bee.The Bee during a recent interview.Continuing Education Associate Editor John Voket has been a volunteer paramedic truck driver for the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps since April 2014.)

About every three-and-a-half hours on average, every day over the course of 2015, pagers and radios held by several dozen local volunteers blurted out a long tone signaling that someone in Newtown needed emergency medical assistance.

And every three-and-a-half hours, whether it was a cold and snowy 3 am cardiac arrest, or a motor vehicle crash smack in the middle of a family gathering on the 4th of July, Easter Sunday, or Christmas Day, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps volunteers headed out in one of three of the town's "buses" as they are called to render assistance.

One of the 2,482 calls the NVAC responded to in 2015 involved an August 26 motorcycle crash in Hawleyville involving Bethel resident Francis Spencer, who wrote a recent letter of thanks to his responders in

"I cannot recall how any people at the scene looked when I was lying on the ground, but the sound of your voices saying 'where does it hurt' are very, very clear to me," Mr Spencer wrote. "It's not speculation, you coming to my aid saved my life."

Mr Spencer went on to detail that when doctors at Danbury and Yale New Haven Hospitals saw the extent of his injuries, they said he was extremely fortunate to even be alive because the pelvic fracture and abdominal impact he sustained kill many people.

"Your actions and decisions at the scene made the difference," he said of the NVAC volunteers and Danbury Ambulance paramedic who responded along with Hawleyville firefighters. "They said…there was the potential for serious back injury that could have happened to me had you not been there and done the right thing."

While the call volume is significant for a community of about 29,000, ambulance volunteers often have to treat more than one patient, like in the case of motor vehicle crashes. So while an NVAC crew rolled out to 2,482 calls, they actually handled 2,788 individual patients.

Perhaps even more significant from a volunteer perspective is that 18 of the nearly 70 trained emergency medical technicians (EMTs) each answered more than 100 calls. Among those 18 are Liz Sortino, who has been with the corps just under a year and a half, and Caitlin Cosgrove, who just passed her one-year mark.

Then there are the "lifers" - Harold Evans, Jr, who has been with the corps for almost 34 years and currently serves as secretary/treasurer; Tom Hanlon, who has been on board for 24 years; Kevin Clyne, who has logged nearly 20 years; and Ken Lerman, with more than 18 and a half years to his credit.

"It's very hard for people to take on a volunteer position that's so demanding, but we've managed to add about 15 new members in the past couple of years," Chief Michael Collins told

"We offer some benefits [including a modest property tax abatement for qualified responders], but for many of us, we do it because we love it and we want to be there to help protect our neighbors and the folks who visit or drive through Newtown," he added.

The NVAC has been serving the community since 1941, and has been mostly self-sustaining in that they primarily depend on residents' financial donations for operating expenses. Taxpayers each year, through the town budget, help underwrite half the average cost of an ambulance replacement, along with some of the expense of a paid, 24-hour onsite paramedic.

More recently, the Newtown corps, along with a growing number of volunteer EMS services across the state, has begun billing patients' insurance carriers for services similar to the practice of private ambulance companies. Reimbursements, when they come, have helped offset a gradual decline in private donations over the years.

In 2014, the corps occupied its new headquarters adjacent to the Reed School on the Fairfield Hills campus. That facility was built with virtually no taxpayer dollars being spent on the building project. As a result, the corps has increased its recruiting and hosting of classes including CPR and EMT certification.

Continuing education is also a hallmark of the Newtown corps.

"We are facing constant upgrades and changes in state EMS protocols," Chief Collins said. "So that means we're constantly updating out training and maintaining our awareness as these changes occur."

He said the corps leadership wants each NVAC responder to be as well trained as possible.

"The upside for our EMTs who want to also work for paid companies is the quality of our training puts them in high demand," he said.

Chief Collins said both the residents of Newtown, and the community's unique features also demand specific training for particular types of response.

"We've got water rescues, highways that have terrific crashes, a prison, group homes, skilled care, assisted living and dementia facilities," he said. "And when the patient's condition demands it, we can transport them to any of eight different hospitals."

At the same time, the chief said, specific protocols may require transport to a specific hospital, primarily Danbury.

Turning his attention to helping his volunteers stay safe, getting to calls, and responding as comprehensively as possible to patients' needs, Chief Collins took the opportunity to remind drivers that state law requires them to pull over and come to a complete stop on either side of the road when an ambulance approaches with its lights and siren activated.

Motorists are also asked to yield to volunteers who may be responding directly to calls or to the ambulance garage in their own vehicles displaying green flashing "courtesy lights."

Once volunteers arrive on a call, they need to get a lot of information quickly. That effort could be greatly aided if residents maintain a free "File of Life" - a magnetized sheaf that hangs on a refrigerator door and contains updated details on residents' medical conditions, their physician contacts, allergies, medications, and other key information.

File of Life kits are available by contacting the NVAC.

"Just fill them out in pencil and update them regularly," Chief Collins said. "That would help us so much."

There are also plenty of opportunities to support the corps by volunteering, where folks never have to touch a patient or go on a call.

"Right now we're desperately in need of a grant writer," Chief Collins said. "And we have plenty of other duties volunteers can do where they never have to go on a call or receive emergency medical training."

The corps is also hoping to see a lot of Newtowners turn out for a planned St Patty's Day fundraiser which will feature corned beef and cabbage, live entertainment and an opportunity to tour the new headquarters. That event is happening on March 12 from 2 to 8 pm.

For information on volunteering, to learn more about the File of Life or the upcoming fundraiser, visit newtown-ambulance.org or the NVAC page on Facebook, facebook.com/newtownems.

(Newtown Bee