OUR STORY

In 1949, a suggestion was made by members of the North End Hose Company, a division of the Eastchester Fire Department to establish a volunteer ambulance service. Three years later a group of committed individuals led by Attorney Harold Blass secured incorporation papers for the Eastchester Volunteer Ambulance Corps (EVAC). The originally elected officers of the Corps were President Rocco Rescigno, Vice President Adolph Zorzo, Secretary Vincent Logiudice, and Treasurer Jerry M. Nuzzi.

Shortly after incorporation in February 1952, the membership voted to purchase their first Miller Cadillac ambulance.  After incorporation, many residents of the community along with the Board of Fire Commissioners, Lawrence Hospital, the Eastchester Town Council, the Eastchester Chamber of Commerce, and many other local organizations supported the establishment of EVAC.

On March 1, 1952, EVAC’s first ambulance was officially placed into service at the North End Fire House, which served as the agency’s headquarters.  During EVAC’s first year of operations, members responded to over 90 calls.

In 1966 the Eastchester Fire Department constructed a new addition to accommodate EVAC’s vehicles and members.

As the years progressed and EVAC’s membership roster increased, it became evident that EVAC could no longer operate out of the North End Fire House.  In 1984, EVAC began a massive fundraising campaign to support the construction of a new building of our own. 

On December 6, 1986, EVAC broke ground on what was to become their new state of the art headquarters.

Four years later, on October 21, 1990, EVAC officially opened its new headquarters for operations. 

Shortly after, in May of 1991, EVAC earned the distinction of being a New York State Department of Health Ambulance Service. This distinction affirmed EVAC’s commitment to the rigorous training standards set by the state for certified first responders, emergency medical technicians, and advanced emergency medical technicians, as well as for maintaining the equipment and communication standards necessary to provide the highest quality life support services to our community.

In July of 1995, EVAC implemented its Advanced Life Support (ALS) program, which provided an around the clock staffed Paramedic responsible for responding to all calls and triaging patients to determine the appropriate treatment needed.  The program was complemented by a rapid response vehicle known as a “fly-car” (57M1).

Beginning in 1999, the Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe which, serves to support broad social services through grants and technical support to local agencies and community projects, have committed their financial support to EVAC, which is reserved for the purchase of a new ambulance every three years. Due to the generosity of the Community Fund, the citizens of Eastchester, Bronxville, and Tuckahoe, EVAC has purchased high quality, state of the art ambulances.  In addition to the support of the Community Fund, EVAC operations are supported through private donations and revenue recovery efforts.

Another major milestone for EVAC occurred in 2005 when all medical emergencies started to be dispatched by Westchester County’s Department of Emergency Services, known as 60-Control.  This allows Westchester County to dispatch EMS services more efficiently according to patient condition. 60-Control also uses Emergency Medical Dispatching, a system where they are able to give pre-arrival instructions to family members or bystanders to further help the patient until first responders arrive.