In the winter months of 1953, progress was begun for the formation of an ambulance squad in Greenwood Lake, New York through the combined efforts of two men who felt the need of such a service. These two pioneers, Harry Ehlig and Wilbur Christman, with the help of the Greenwood Lake Lions club and the Red Cross training provided by Irene Keogh, culminated in the formation of the Greenwood Lake Ambulance, Inc.

 Corporate Papers were signed and the Corps went into actual operation on the first of April 1954. The first call was a transport to a nearby hospital on April 5, 1954. Doris Finnegan had the honor of being our first patient. Charter members, including the board of directors included: Harry Ehlig, Wilbur Christman, Herbert Dickert, Irene Keogh, Steve Nagy, Edna Ehlig, Hugh Morris, Barbara Morris, Mary Andresen, Kay Ball, Harold Conklin, Jr., Helmut Eckhoff, Kay Eckhoff, Kenneth Fredricks, William Vogel, Robert Harrington, Hans Christman, Sidney I. Laitman, Margaret Viola, and Marge Miller.

 The first organizational meeting was held at the Linden House on February 6, 1954 and the following individuals were elected as the first slate of officers:

President-Harry Ehlig
Vice President-Marjorie Miller
Captain of Squad-Wilbur Christman
Treasurer-Harold Conklin
Secretary-Sidney I. Laitman

 The directors included Thomas R. Weeks, Max Shuster, and Margaret Viola. “The first ambulance was purchased by the Greenwood Lake Lions Club, a used 1947 S & S Cadillac. The next ambulance to follow was a brand new one purchased through the contributions of the community, a 1957 Miller Meteor Cadillac, at a cost of $10,000!”

The first building was put up by the eager volunteers and friends on Church Street behind the Fire House on Village property, the use of which had been given for many years. The old building was built almost entirely with volunteer labor and largely with donated materials from business people in and around this locale. On one Sunday in particular, twenty-three men worked on this building and we have never seen a building go up as a fast as it did that day.”

 “The first few years were hard ones to live through, but the Corps managed to live through it and as each year passed, it was gratifying to see how many people in the community rallied to support us. We developed many friends and supporters and we averaged about $5,000 dollars per year in contributions, which was our sole support.”

 In 1961, it was with great pride and appreciation that the Greenwood Lake Ambulance Corps received the generous gift of the Edgemere Avenue property and new building to house our Corps from Mr. and Mrs. L. Gustam Moses. During that same year, we retired the 1947 S & S Cadillac and replaced it with a used 1955 Miller Meteor Ambulance.

 Our original Corps doctor was Andrew Hicks of Warwick, who helped us organize and trained us at the start of our existence. After his untimely death, Dr. William A. Sommerville, Jr. of Hewitt, New Jersey, became our Corps doctor. Also providing assistance to the Corps was Dr. H.A. Robbins, Greenwood Lake’s first full-time resident physician.

 In 1961, the rigs were outfitted with two-way radios to the dispatcher. It was claimed at the time, that Greenwood Lake Ambulance was the first Volunteer Ambulance Corps to own its own two-way radio station. The Corps consisted of 35 active members with almost all of them holding EMT certification. The Corps averaged about 160 calls per year.

During the 70’s, the Corps continues to evolve and grow, as did the responsibilities of the EMTs, and the size of our community. By the early 1980’s, electronic pagers and Police dispatching have come on board and as the 1990’s approach, advances in emergency medical care continue to bring new protocols and equipment to the field. Greenwood Lake becomes a New York State Certified Corps, larger ambulances become standard, and the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) response system goes into full swing. The EMS chain brings our Basic Life Support (BLS) EMT crews together with Paramedics, at the scene of critical medical emergencies. With the Medic’s valuable Advanced Life Support (ALS) training and working as a team with the BLS crews, a high level of care is brought to our patients and to our community.

 During the 1990’s, the Greenwood Lake Ambulance Corps becomes one of the first Ambulance Corps in the County to carry semiautomatic cardiac defibrillators. We became a tax district and begin to receive much needed funding under the Town of Warwick. The Corps purchases the former Night Owl Restaurant property on the corner of Windermere Avenue and Waterstone Road and the foundation of our new headquarters building is erected.

 Jump to the year 2000, fund raising efforts still continued with annual fund drives, tricky tray events, Christmas Tree sales, all helping to offset the rising cost of running the Corps. The new building, which was sorely needed to accommodate the new larger rigs is completed and a dedication ceremony was held. The new building is furnished with three bays, general meeting room, training library, storage room, oxygen filling station, and a storage room for our free loaner equipment program. A natural gas generator is installed to ensure full accessibility and service to the community in event of power outages.

The Greenwood Lake Ambulance Corps was named Orange County’s EMS Agency of the Year in 2001. The Corps responds with our neighboring agencies to support the World Trade Center disaster on 9-11 and days to follow. The three duty rigs are outfitted with new portable, rechargeable suction machines and with state of the art Stryker stair chairs. In an effort to generate interest in the Corps and to expand membership, the Corps rejuvenates its Junior Corps program under the direction of Lt. Bob Ackerson. This program focuses on youth ages 16 and 17. As each Jr. Corps member turns 18 years of age, they are voted into full membership status.

One past spring, with the help of Past President Pete DeVries and Vice President Ray Milazzo, the Corps entered into a long term CME training program for the EMTs that also included special training modules appropriate for the entire membership.

 Over one summer, with the support of generous grant cosponsored by Assemblyman Howard Mills and Governor George Pataki, the Greenwood Lake Ambulance Corps was able to upgrade its defibrillator equipment. The semiautomatic defibrillators were replaced with state of the art, bi-phasic defibrillators capable of providing both adult and pediatric defibrillation, based on the newly released NYS protocols. This grant not only provided for the upgrade of all the defibrillator units, but covered the expense of the hard carrying cases, long life batteries, adult and pediatric pads, educational material, event card readers, trainer modules/pads/batteries, and a monitoring trainer mannequin among other accessories. Dr. Yacoub was our Corps physician and has provided years of excellent support and guidance to us.

 The fall of 2004 we retired our oldest ambulance, a 1986 Ford Econoline which was nearing the 20 year mark. With the help of donations, Corps fundraising efforts, tireless support and dedication of Helen Kelly, and with a generous grant form Senator Thomas Morahan, we took delivery of a new ambulance. Wetdown photos of the new ambulance can be seen in our photo gallery.

Welcome to the official website of the Greenwood Lake Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a New York State Certified Agency. We were established in 1954 and provide 24 -7, basic life support (BLS) services to the residents of a 40 square mile district located in southern Orange County New York, about a ninety minute drive northwest of New York City.  

Our agency is headquartered in the Village of Greenwood Lake and our district consists of the Village of Greenwood Lake as well as portions of the Town of Warwick that extend to the boundaries of the Greenwood Lake Fire, Tax and School districts.  The north end of our territory extends to the Town of Warwick/Town of Chester line. The east side extends to the Sterling Mountain range to the Town of Warwick/Town of Tuxedo line. The west side extends to the Appalachian Trail and to the top of Mount Peter. The south end branches out around Greenwood Lake and extends along the shorelines to the New York State/New Jersey border. 

Our 100% volunteer agency responds to over 500 emergency calls per year which include incidents occurring on the lake, the Appalachian Trail, and the Sterling Mountain Trails.        

Approximately 45% of our members are New York State Certified Emergency Medical Technicians, two of which are certified CPR Instructors which support our Corps and our community.

We offer to our residents a free equipment loan program for crutches, wheel chairs, walkers, canes, tub seats, and commodes. We offer free periodic blood pressure screening and host an annual blood drive. This year we were proud to partner with the Village of Greenwood Lake on a very successful health and fitness campaign called “Let’s Get Healthy Greenwood Lake.”

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer healthcare provider, we can use Emergency Medical Technicians and/or those willing to volunteer their time and make a commitment to become one. We offer a flexible ride schedule and provide the education, training, and uniforms. 

We hope you find the website a resource that is informative and easy to use. Whether you’re a resident or spending your vacation here at Greenwood Lake, we wish you a very safe and enjoyable summer. 

Sincerely, 

Michael J. King

Michael J. King, NYS EMT  

President GLVAC