History

In June of 1948, The Cornwall Hospital bought its first ambulance--essentially a hearse outfitted for medical duty. Until 1955, the hospital ran its own ambulance service but discontinued it in August of that year, after asking the Cornwall Businessmen's Association to support the founding of a citizen ambulance unit. The Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps was founded in June 1955 and took over the hospital's ambulance and garage that August.

When a call came in to the hospital, the switchboard there telephoned whatever crew members were on duty, and they rushed to the hospital garage to pick up the rig and respond. Radios and pagers were still far in the future. So were EMTs--a concept that didn't take hold until the early 1970's, in part as a result of Vietnam War experience. In the early days, COVAC personnel were trained solely in standard first aid.

In 1961, COVAC bought a second ambulance, again a hearse-type wagon. That year, the Corps responded to 196 calls--about one-fourth as many as it currently is answering. In 1962, two-way radios first appeared--but only two of them, one per rig, purely for communication between ambulance and hospital.

By 1970, COVAC had moved into a three-bay ambulance garage that would be its home for the next two decades. It was a simple structure near the hospital, equipped with a bathroom and some storage space but no overnight accommodations for duty crews. When drills were held, the ambulances had to be moved outside to make room.

During the 12 months after July 1974, COVAC responded to 518 calls--a level that would stay relatively steady until the mid-90's. That year, the Corps bought its first true van-type ambulance. COVAC continued to operate as it had from the beginning, buying supplies and equipment solely with what it could raise through its annual fund drives. But in 1977, the drive fell well short of the necessary $17,000 budget, and the Town Board voted to subsidize COVAC with tax dollars.

In 1979, the Corps' first real "modular" (box-on-frame) ambulance arrived, and in 1980, the Corps got its first pagers, so responders could be summoned automatically whenever they were within their duty area.

In 1985, a major change: the Town of Cornwall established an "ambulance district," began to tax all the homeowners within that district--the entire Town and Village--for ambulance services, and contracted with COVAC to provide that service. The Town took ownership of all of the Corps' equipment, vehicles, supplies and bays, while an all-volunteer membership continued to provide the operating staff--EMTs, drivers and attendants.

COVAC's current quarters at 1 Clinton Street were dedicated in March 1991, finally allowing the Corps the space it needed for vehicles, training, meetings, administration, secure storage of medical supplies, and a comfortable, cable-TV-equipped bunkroom/lounge for nighttime duty crews.

Surprisingly, it wasn't until 1992 that New York State regulations began to require EMTs aboard each ambulance run, though COVAC had been carrying EMTs for years. (New York had until then been one of only six states without any ambulance staffing or equipment standards.) In 1994, COVAC's ambulances were New York State-certified for the first time, after strict inspections, allowing them to carry defibrillators.

1995 was a difficult year for COVAC as well as Cornwall. Bitter Town Supervisor elections and a major upheaval in the Police Department were capped by the revelation that COVAC's Treasurer at the time had absconded with over $90,000 in COVAC funds over a 14-year period. It was little consolation that two other Orange County volunteer ambulance Corps suffered the same crime at virtually the same time.

In the years since that low point, the Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps has entirely rebuilt and rededicated itself, re-earning the respect that over the years it had gained from its townspeople and neighbors. The Corps is currently on a firm and secure financial footing and operates three entirely up-to-date and well-equipped modular ambulances and an all-wheel-drive "fly car" (for immediate response by an EMT direct to a call site while the ambulance crew musters).

COVAC currently has 45 active members, of whom 35 are EMTs. The Corps responds to over 1,000 calls per year, and it has been over 5 year since a single call was "missed" (not responded to due to lack of an available crew). One of many reasons why the Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps was named the best EMS unit in all of Orange County for 2002 and 2003.