South Orange Dispatch

It’s one of those texts you don’t want to get, and I got three of them in just over a month’s time. Somebody fell. Not your casual pop right back up kind of tumble, but the serious kind. The sort that can be, and in one case was, fatal.

With the winter holidays underway, we’ve got a few reminders to help you get through them safer and healthier.

Our volunteers provide critical services, but we couldn’t do it without financial support from people like you. For our all-volunteer non-profit, your gifts are a vital supplement to other income streams like grants, matching gifts, special event coverage and billing for services.

In 2017, Congress established National First Responders Day. Each October 28, we honor the paramedics, EMTs, firefighters, police and other career and volunteer rescuers who are the first to arrive on the scene in emergencies.

Mutual aid has taken on more importance in the community setting since natural disasters like Hurricane Helene and, most recently, Tropical Depression Chantal. For emergency response organizations like SORS, it was another major storm, 1996’s Hurricane Fran, that formalized mutual aid between fire, police and rescue services.

We’re heading into the last days of summer and the first days of school. Here are a few reminders on how to stay safe when enjoying some downtime or heading to class.

After a natural disaster like the floods we experienced in early July, we’re often so focused on clean-up and recovery that it’s difficult to think about anything else.

“Be prepared” is more than a motto. Planning ahead can save seconds, minutes and lives. And while EMS squads and technical rescue teams (TRT) like ours train to respond, it can take time to reach you.

At South Orange Rescue Squad (SORS), we stay ready. That’s why our motto, which is emblazoned on all our vehicles, is Semper Aptus Muneris, always prepared to serve. That’s really all you need to know. But there is more to our story.

You may like being outside, but did you know it can actually be good for you? When the weather’s safe and the air quality is good, being in nature delivers all kinds of health benefits.