By James DeWeese
Volunteer ambulance and EMS crews are eligible to receive funds for the first time under the five-year-old Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to strengthen and expand first-responder services. But Weiner said the Big Apple's volunteer ambulance and fire crews face an uphill battle in securing the grants because of heavy competition from other city programs and a system which favors less-populated rural areas.”Volunteer fire departments across the city are being shut out of crucial federal funds,” said Weiner, who organized a grant workshop for borough volunteer companies on March 7. “Last year, while volunteer fire departments from places like Wyoming were awarded hundreds of thousand of federal funds, departments from Riverdale to Coney Island were shut out.”The $650 million grant program for 2005 will help finance training and equipment for volunteer fire and ambulance corps across the country. About 2 percent of the total grant monies will go to ambulance crews and the rest will go to fire stations. But even the relatively small amount could mean a lot to the borough's volunteer ambulance companies that would likely be pressed into service in the event of a terrorist attack, said Gerard Buonincontri, captain and treasurer of the Lindenwood Volunteer Ambulance Co. in Ozone Park.”God forbid some kind of terrorist action happens where it's biological … We have some gear for some of our guys (but) not for all of our guys,” he said. “In the city you would need every ambulance plus every outlying ambulance you can get.” That means that volunteer companies, such as Lindenwood, which Buonincontri said was the 31st to arrive at the site of the World Trade Center attacks and first on scene when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in the Rockaways in 2001, would be expected to respond. But like many cash-strapped volunteer companies, Lindenwood is feeling an economic squeeze, Buonincontri said.Lindenwood, which made about 1,000 emergency runs last year, recently took a $33,750 state-subsidized loan to renovate the circa 1929 building it occupies and the corps' 1993 ambulance already has more than 100,000 miles on it. The average ambulance in New York City lasts about five years, he said.Buonincontri said there are approximately 32 volunteer ambulance corps and 10 volunteer fire companies in New York City. He said many of them sprang up decades ago to cover gaps in city services at the time. As much as 30 percent of city emergency calls are fielded by volunteer crews, he said.Volunteer ambulance and fire corps operate throughout the borough in areas that include Corona, Elmhurst, Astoria, Whitestone, Queens Village and Howard Beach, among others.After receiving clarification from the Department of Homeland Security, Weiner said city volunteer ambulance corps not affiliated with hospitals are eligible to apply for the grant money as are volunteer fire companies. Applications will be accepted until April 8. For more information on applying, visit www.firesafetysupport.comReach reporter James DeWeese by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
