Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad is run by a volunteer board of directors and is staffed by state-certified paramedics and advanced and basic emergency medical technicians. SLVRS separated from the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department in 2010 in order to provide our communities with the highest level of patient care. To pay advanced care staff, we had to bill patients’ insurance. State law prohibited fire department-based squads from billing.

The six towns and one village we serve provided seed money to help the squad get started, and we bought two ambulances and their contents from the fire department. Increasing call volume and the 24/7 demand for inter-hospital transports meant we needed to grow our fleet.

In 2014, SLVRS began to operate at 110 Broadway. SLVRS did most of the renovation work, including making an operations center, insulating the building and making a day room/kitchenette. We purchased the building in October 2018, but knew it was an interim solution — it is too small. Our goal is to have two trucks for transport, two for 911 calls and a spare for when one is out of service for repairs. Currently, we must park our fifth ambulance and a fly car outside and move items that cannot get cold in and out of the vehicles.

In 2020, we started looking for a larger building where we did not have to worry about freezing weather, truck height or width, or a garage that is too close to living quarters. We explored at least six sites in the village. Each site had problems that were too expensive for us to remediate, such as buried fuel tanks, limited parking or wetlands.

Eventually, we signed a contract and secured financing to purchase the Amusement and Vending property on Woodruff Street. The contract was pending village approval; however, a zoning issue arose. SLVRS invested months of effort and additional expense to secure the required approval. Meanwhile, our contract with the owner expired and a private entrepreneur purchased the Woodruff building. The loss of that building was a real setback for SLVRS.

In 2022, SLVRS purchased 114 Broadway. We renovated the apartments and use the building for workforce housing. It proved useful when we were struggling to find local providers and hired a paramedic from Rochester who could not have worked for us because he had no place to live.

We have always sought a permanent home with adequate space, less maintenance and, of most recent concern, no impingement upon or from the soon-to-open 70-unit housing complex next door. Thus, SLVRS was excited when asked to join in a proposed public safety building at 33 Petrova that included the fire, and possibly police, departments.

SLVFD and SLVRS need each other to protect this community optimally.

SLVFD conducts extraction of victims of vehicle crashes and assists with off-road and water rescues while SLVRS transports the sick and injured. In addition, our current location allows us to use SLVFD drivers for 911 calls and for dispatch. Our contract for the drivers helps offset the cost of two paid staff members at the firehouse 24/7. These drivers are also available to drive two fire trucks when needed.

SLVRS has the largest rescue territory in New York state — 600 sqare miles — and can be housed anywhere in our service area. We prefer to stay in the village, as that is where most of our rescue calls originate and a prompt response time is critical to public safety.

If the proposed public safety building fails or if SLVRS is not allowed to become part of the project, we will have to relocate outside of the village and will no longer contribute to salaries of SLVFD drivers. In addition, taxpayer cost will increase as we must hire drivers to cover 911 shifts and build a new building.

While our financial contribution is still under discussion, the reality is that government grants prefer joint emergency services buildings and tend to fund multi-use structures. SLVRS has worked closely with the current administration since their purchase of the property at 33 Petrova. SLVRS will maintain our own identity and space and will continue to provide a top-notch rescue service. This specific project has great potential to become a premier emergency services building that will serve our community well into the future.

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The Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad board of directors includes Chief Julie Harjung, Captain/Director Vincent Noto, Secretary Maggie Mortensen, Treasurer Bob Nadon and directors Ben Watson, Rhonda Marrone, Steve Orman, Bruce Barnard, Mary Brown, Peter Bensen, Madison Phelan and Lisa Reed.