A Typical Day in the Life of a Volunteer Sand Lake Ambulance Driver

At 2 a.m., your pager goes off. You fumble to silence it, thinking “How can such a small thing make so much noise?” You jump out of bed, fumble for the phone and groggily call dispatch. A crisp voice answers “Communications - what’s your emergency?”,  to which you reply “This is Sand Lake Ambulance, Driver #XX, en route to the station”.  The adrenaline pumping through your body, you hurriedly put on your waiting uniform and head for the station. The call is a Delta (high priority), and your crew … [Read more...]

Setting the Facts Straight – Poestenkill

Poestenkill Town Board Abandons their Town Residents     -- They’re not Blacklisted In a recent inflammatory and accusatory Letter to the Editor  published by the Advertiser July 1, 2015 written by Poestenkill board member, David Hass, he inaccurately blames the Sand Lake Ambulance for “blacklisting” Poestenkill and not caring about children or pregnant women. The fact is that the same Poestenkill board member, other board members and the town supervisor voted to dissolve their town … [Read more...]

A Community Comes Together

MEDIA ADVISORY STORY/PHOTO OP FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014, 2 p.m.   A Community Comes Together Generous Donors, Community Business Leaders, And Dedicated Volunteers Unite to Save the Sand Lake Ambulance Building Sand Lake, New York – Three years ago, the Sand Lake Ambulance Building was in such disrepair that, according to engineers, only the lack of insulation that allowed snow on the roof to melt, kept it from collapsing on the vehicles stored inside. Friday, Aug. 28, at 2 p.m., at the … [Read more...]

Move to the RIGHT for Sirens and Lights

A funny but serious topic... Thanks to the creative folks from Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue, Alabama. … [Read more...]

Brownie Troop 1135 Learns First Aid

Sand Lake Ambulance members Sarah Jones and Raymond Sokol, both EMT’s and CPR Instructors volunteered their time to the Brownies Troop 1135 on Thursday March 6, 2014 at the Sand Lake Library. First Aid training was needed for the troop to earn their patches. During the class the troop learned the differences of when to call 911 and also the information they needed to provide when calling for an emergency.  The troop also took a tour of the ambulance to see all the supplies used during an … [Read more...]

We can’t help you if we can’t find you.

Frequently seconds can make a huge difference in response to a medical emergency. Even if  the emergency isn't a life or death situation, the length of time that someone may be in great discomfort can be impacted by the time it takes to find a location.  Emergency responders don't always know the exact location of every residence in your town and if the responder is coming as mutual aid from a nearby town its even less likely they will know your location. Can You See Your House … [Read more...]

SLA Phase 2 Building Improvements Underway

Many people have been wondering what is going on at the Sand Lake Ambulance building. Didn't they just do a lot of work on it?" Last fall, Sand Lake Ambulance (SLA) completed building improvements to our station that reinforced a "ready to collapse" flat roof over the ambulance bay, widened the bay doors to accommodate the dimensions of the larger ambulances and replacement of wiring and lighting that dramatically improved energy efficiency. Now we’ve just kicked off our Phase 2 plans for … [Read more...]

2013 Fund Drive – Underway

Hello Neighbors,     As Sand Lake Ambulance is now doing its annual fund drive, we would like to take this opportunity to answer some questions people may have about our organization. We have also created a link so you can donate online today!   What we do. The Town of Sand Lake contracts with Sand Lake Ambulance to  provide emergency medical services (EMS) to the Town at both the paramedic (advanced life support - ALS) and EMT (basic life support -  BLS) level. In addition to … [Read more...]

Over 1,600 Averill Park High School Students Have Learned CPR Since 2009

Dec 2012 -- Averill Park High School received a donation of CPR anytime kits and continue efforts of training all high school students in the simple life saving skills of Hands-Only CPR. Mr. Brey Engle's freshman seminar along with Mrs. Olga Ashline's Junior & Senior health class take part in this two day mass training exercise. Sand Lake Ambulance volunteers, Averill Park School staff and local survivors train over 400 students in two days, reaching over 1,600 students in the past … [Read more...]

Celebrating 1,000 Students Trained in Life Saving CPR

In 2009, the Sand Lake Ambulance began training students at Averill Park in CPR. In 2010, sudden cardiac arrest survivors Michelle Haller of Loudonville and Kelly Crupi of W. Sand Lake joined the ambulance company in their efforts. In that time, we have trained 1,000 students in CPR. On Thurs, March 22, at 1:30 p.m., at Averill Park High School, 146 Gettle Rd., in Averill Park, Robbie MacCue of Sand Lake Ambulance, Haller and Crupi, along with representatives from the American Heart … [Read more...]