ALLENTOWN – The rural communities of Allentown and Upper Freehold Township are not immune to the opioid epidemic that is sweeping through cities from one end of the United States to the other.
During a report to the Allentown Borough Council on Feb. 13, Mike Conroy, the captain of the Allentown First Aid Squad, said the unit has already responded to seven or eight drug overdose calls this year. The drugs being used include heroin, he said.
“The opioid problem is here and we are dealing with it,” Conroy told Mayor Greg Westfall, members of the governing body and residents.
Conroy said the squad’s call volume was up in January, with 78 calls answered, and the number had reached 105 calls through Feb. 13. He said said many area residents are falling victim to the flu and are being transported to a hospital.
“Hospitals are overwhelmed with the flu (patients),” he said.
Motor vehicle accidents account for a significant number of calls to which the first aid squad responds and several of those incidents early in 2018 have been related to drug use, Conroy said.
The first aid squad primarily serves Allentown and Upper Freehold Township, but assistance is also provided as needed in the neighboring communities of Plumsted, Millstone Township and Robbinsville, according to Conroy.
The squad achieved a milestone late in 2017 when it took delivery of a new ambulance. The vehicle is being outfitted with medical equipment and communications equipment and is being placed into use, he said.
Council members also heard a report on the activities of the Hope Fire Company, which serves Allentown and Upper Freehold Township, from Chief Steve Gomba. He said one significant issue with which the fire company is dealing is a lack of back-up gear for some firefighters.
The fire company is staffed by volunteer firefighters and by paid professional firefighters. Gomba said the professional firefighters generally have back-up gear such as coats, pants and boots, but he said volunteers may not have an extra set of turnout gear, which can cost between $3,300 and $3,500 per set.
As an example, the chief said if a firefighter responds to a motor vehicle accident and gets blood on his gear, the firefighter, if he does not have backup gear, cannot respond to calls until his contaminated gear is cleaned.
Gomba said the fire company has been cited for violations regarding the turnout gear and is working to correct the violations.
Additional equipment such as thermal imaging cameras and electronic firefighter finder tags is also needed and the fire company is applying for grant funding to address those issues.
Councilman Rob Schmitt expressed concern about the issues Gomba raised, saying, “What we heard from Chief Gomba about the turnout gear is disconcerting to me.”
He later elaborated, saying, “The overall health and well-being of the Hope Fire Company is of paramount concern to me and to residents. I checked with Chief Gomba and he said he double-checked and wanted to let me know the Firefighter Pass Alarms (the “firefighter finders”) are no longer an issue.
“Chief Gomba said his volunteer firefighters have the pass alarms and use them. I am not sure he was speaking to whether the paid firefighters have them or not.
“Another related safety issue was the regular use of accountability tags. Accountability tags are sets of two tags with a firefighter’s name on them and the time at which they enter a fire scene. One tag stays on the truck the other tag goes with the firefighter. Hope Fire Company’s volunteer firefighters print and laminate these tags and use them at every fire scene.
“As far as we know, the paid firefighters, who feel they answer only to Upper Freehold Township, do not. Again, I cannot speak to the absolute veracity of what the paid peripheral firefighters do or do not do,” Schmitt said.
Regarding the maintenance, repair and/or prompt replacement of the uniforms and wearable safety equipment for the volunteers, the councilman said, “Chief Gomba is … working with Allentown on getting a grant to help pay for any number of expenses of the Hope Fire Company and is hoping the upkeep, repair and replacement of uniforms and wearable safety gear will be a part of that discussion going forward.”
