Black River Ambulance Squad, Inc.

06/23/2026

Last night we supported our local Firefighter by standing by for the Interior Firefighter Operations Course.
New safety regulations has required these courses to have EMS on site during certain training evolutions in case of an emergency. Our agency, along with our neighbor Evans Mills Ambulance have stepped up to the plate to ensure the course could continue as scheduled.
We want to thank EMT Shanda Greenwood and Driver Lydia Ortiz for attending several of these courses over the last couple months, and to EMT Gracie Mahieu for attending an all day Saturday class that Shanda and Lydia were unable to attend.
When we agree to schedule crews for details like this, it isn’t always an easy task. We have to first and foremost ensure we have at minimum an EMT and Driver to cover any emergency in our own coverage area, as well as staffing to send to the detail.
Firefighters are a vital resource for EMS agencies. We rely heavily on our neighboring Fire Departments for things like manpower for lifting as well as drivers, or just an extra set of hands. Anything that we can do to endure their success, is our top priority.

06/18/2026

Another busy day today for Black River Ambulance. Five calls so far to include this structure fire that was called in at 5:23 PM on Woodland Drive in the Town of Leray. Black River Fire Chief arrived on scene first and reported a working fire. Crews on scene were Calcium Fire Department (Their District) and Black River Fire, as well as Jefferson County Office of Fire and Emergency Management.
Our crew was staffed by our A-List team- Shanda Greenwood, Lydia Ortiz, and Wayne Robbe. Without these three we would have a lot of uncovered hours. These three our are top responders with both hours and call volume outside of our paid staff.
Thank you to all of our members and our Firefighters we work with on a daily basis who keep our community safe!

06/17/2026

There is always so much more to running an organization than just running emergency calls. We always look for volunteers with a wide range of skills. We have our volunteers who are EMT’s or Drivers and run emergency calls. We also have clerical only members. We are always looking for cleaners and other type of help as well.
Today our member Alissa, who is a volunteer extraordinaire (Driver, Registered Nurse normally) got tired of the building looking abandoned and mowed, weedwacked, weeded, and planted beautiful flowers. It is just the beginning but she is really sprucing the place up. Thank you to Alissa Arno for all your hard work!

06/09/2026

05/26/2026

Today we honored and remembered all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
We participated in the Felts Mills Parade at 10 am, and then the Black River Parade at 11am.
Unfortunately the ambulance itself was missing out of the Black River Parade. We were in the lineup twice, but had to leave for two calls, and never made it back until after the parade was over. Sadly I think this is the first time we have not had an actual ambulance in the parade as far back as I can remember.
Thank you to those who participated!
In the First Response Vehicle we had Sue Branagan, Jr Member Alexis Wagner, and Honorary Jr. Member Zoey Jantzi.
In the Ambulance was EMT Alan Gaines and AEMT Jonathan Gaines.

05/09/2026

It is that time of year again, where you will see our hardworking volunteers going door to door handing out our annual donation drive letters.
One of our volunteers is 9 year old Zoey. Zoey and her mom Alissa walked Maple Street this evening handing out the letters. Zoey loves helping the ambulance squad!
Please take the time to read our letter to learn about our agency…. And consider donating if you are able to. We incluced QR codes this year for quicker donating on our website or venmo…. You can also donate the old fashion way by cash or check.
Your donation helps us keep the ambulances staffed, stocked, and ready to go, and our members trained to the highest standards.

05/08/2026

The key to working in emergency services is to never stop learning!
An EMT trains for 150 hours or more, and then completes continuing education for the rest of their career.
Tonight we held training on Carbon Monoxide Meters that we are now required to carry by the Department of Health.
Black River Fire Chief Matt Carpenter was our instructor and gave us an inservice of our new meters …. as well as what carbon monoxide is, what kind of symptoms a patient can present with, as well as what the fire departments policies are on responding to CO calls, and how they investigate for CO.
It was a good refresher for some of us, and a good learning experience for others. We always appreciate our partnership with the Black River Fire Department! Thank you to Chief Carpenter, and to the members who attended.

05/06/2026

We want to give a shout out to our very first business sponsor! Service Plus Automotive - Auto Service & Repair You Can Depend On located at 27721 State Route 283 in Calcium NY!

Originally started on July 1, 1992. operating out of a two-bay, old gas station on State Route 3 in the Village of Black River. They later outgrew that location and moved to their current facility in the summer of 2001.

Service plus has been a staple of our coverage area for many years, and we are proud to have them as our first sponsor!

If you are looking for quality car maintenance and repair from and honest and hardworking business owner, look no farther than Service Plus Auto, Gold Sponsor of the Black River Ambulance Squad.

You can visit their website at https://serviceplusautony.com