05/17/2026
Keyport First Aid Squad is urging the community to pay close attention to New Jersey Senate Bill S1421.
While we support the overall intent of this legislation, the bill’s current wording puts volunteer EMS agencies across New Jersey at serious risk.
As currently written, S1421 would impose major licensing and operational requirements on volunteer EMS organizations without providing funding or properly recognizing volunteer agencies within the law. These changes could force volunteer EMS agencies, including Keyport EMS, to cease operations.
Keyport EMS is staffed entirely by volunteers who provide emergency medical care to our community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We respond to nearly 1600 emergency calls annually, with more than 25% requiring multiple ambulances on the road at the same time.
We are asking the Legislature to amend the bill to properly recognize volunteer EMS agencies by adding the following language:
“Basic life support ambulance service” means an entity that is validly licensed by the department to provide pre-hospital basic life support care or a Member in Good Standing of the New Jersey State First Aid Council dba EMS Council of New Jersey.
We are also requesting that volunteers and volunteer EMS agencies be explicitly included in the listing of agencies authorized to provide EMS services.
If volunteer EMS agencies are unable to continue operating, residents could face:
• Longer ambulance response times
• Reduced emergency medical coverage
• Increased strain on neighboring EMS systems
• Significant additional costs to taxpayers and municipalities
Volunteer EMS agencies are a critical part of New Jersey’s emergency response system. In 2025 alone, the 190 volunteer squads within the EMS Council of New Jersey responded to more than 180,000 calls for service statewide.
This is not just an EMS issue — this is a public safety issue.
We respectfully ask all residents to contact the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee and urge them to amend Senate Bill S1421 before irreversible damage is done to emergency medical services across New Jersey.
Senate Law & Public Safety Committee:
[email protected]
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Please stand with Keyport First Aid Squad and volunteer first responders throughout New Jersey.
