Since 1995 the fire department has been providing emergency medical services to the Borough of North Plainfield.  We currently operate two ambulances on a rotating basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  All career firefighters are cross trained as Emergency Medical Technicians and they have the ability to provide the highest quality of care in basic life support including automatic external cardiac defibrillation. The EMS shift is partially staffed with civilian per diem EMTs and four full-time EMTs to supplement our career Firefighter/EMTs.  Medical Calls are divided into several general classifications and account for about half of our annual call volume, including cardiac and respiratory emergencies, medical assists (typically from an Engine company), motor vehicle accidents (including pedestrians), lock-ins, various types of extrications including motor vehicle and elevators, as well as searches and stand-bys.

Currently our EMS division is headed by Deputy Chief DiPaolo. If you are interested in applying for a position as a part time EMT, please contact the Deputy Chief at (908) 769-2935 or send an email to npfd@northplainfieldnj.gov.

Blood pressure screenings for Seniors

One of the programs that is run by the EMS division is the monthly blood pressure screenings at the senior citizen center. On the first Tuesday of the month at 10 am the on duty EMS crew will go to the senior center and check blood pressures, these pressures are then recorded for the seniors so they can see if there are any variations in their blood pressure readings over a period of time.

File of Life Program:

Going hand in hand with the blood pressure screenings is the File of Life program.  While at the residences we pass out a “File of Life” packet.   This is an emergency information card with a magnetic red plastic holder that can be attached to the side or front of the refrigerator.  In an emergency at the residence, critical information is readily available for emergency personnel.  Information includes notification numbers, current medications taken and any medical conditions.  Although the program is open to any resident, it is especially valuable to senior citizens that may have medical conditions or medications and live alone. The department is looking into ways to improve the overall number of senior citizens reached by both of these programs. 

EMS Billing

One aspect of our EMS service that allows us to partially offset some of the expenses incurred by operating it is our billing program.  For about ten years now we have been billing the insurance companies of the patients who are transported by our ambulance.  A common question that is asked by patients that we’ve transported is, “why did I receive a bill for services and do I have to pay this?”  The answer is NO, you do not have to pay it; however, it should be forwarded to your insurance company in order for them to process and pay it, if applicable. Sometimes our third party billing company will send a bill for service or billing letter directly to a patient’s home mailing address. This is typically intended for the individual’s insurance company, or could happen when the insurance company does not respond.  If you ever receive a bill for our services and you have a question about it, please contact fire headquarters at 908-769-2935.