EMS Operations


The RFAAC operates under a Duty Crew Rotation where crews man the ambulance on a scheduled basis. Duty shifts run from 00:00 hours to 06:30, 06:30 to 12:00, 12:00 to 18:30, and 18:30 to 00:00. The hourly commitment for a member is 30 hours per month, 12 of which include weekend time. When there are times when additional help is needed at a call or simultaneous requests for ambulances occur, a request for available members who are not on call is made.

The Squad operates with a minimum of a two man crew. A crew consists of a Crew Chief as well as one to two Second Person(s) and optionally one Cadet (Squad member under 18) or a Trainee.

All aspects of EMS Operations are handled by four line officers. The officer positions are: Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, and Training Officer.

When faced with a large incident that requires multiple ambulances and resources, the Squad operates under the Incident Command System and will coordinate its activities with other agencies on the scene, including the Rutherford Police Department, Fire Department, and Office of Emergency Management.

The Squad is dispatched by the Rutherford Police Department on 156.195 MHz. using dual tone paging to alert members. EMS operations are also conducted on the dispatch channel. At multi-agency incidents, EMS operations are conducted SPEN-4, a state designated EMS multi-agency operations frequency. Ambulance unit numbers are 56 BLS-1, 56 BLS-2, and 56-BL3.