MAES History

Text Box: Mutual Aid Emergency Services was officially incorporated in 1991 as a New Jersey Non-Profit Emergency Services Organization. This was done so that Mutual Aid could develop programs and services to meet the needs of the areas emergency services organizations without being “pigeon holed” in one area. The prime focus of Mutual Aid Emergency Services was in being available to provide “Mutual Aid” EMS to surrounding communities and squads who found themselves challenged to meet call requests during certain times of the day. As an independent organization, Mutual Aid is free to provide services throughout the area while not taking any resources away from any particular municipality as normal “Mutual Aid” procedures and practices do.
Mutual Aid Emergency Services started out as a volunteer organization and was the first organization of its kind to start a county wide Juvenile Fire setters Program. While a few individual municipal fire departments had in-house programs, Mutual Aid’s was available throughout the county. Another unique aspect of the program was that the investigators went to the homes of the referred offenders and interviewed them and their parents in their own environments. Most programs prior to this took a “classroom” approach to dealing with referred offenders. Mutual Aid’s program was utilized by several area fire departments, police departments, family service organizations and the county Juvenile Court System. This program is presently dormant.

Text Box:      Another volunteer program that was started and was in keeping with the reputation that our organization was starting to have regarding youth services was Emergency Services Explorer Post 51 (a program in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America). This program was unique on many fronts. First, it created a whole new category for Explorer Programs under the local BSA chapter. It was the first program of its kind in South Jersey and it was open and recruited juvenile participants from throughout the county as opposed to a single municipality. Mutual Aid and its Chief were recognized for their accomplishments and received awards from Boy Scouts of America within its first year. This program gave young men and women aged 14-21 an overview of both fields of firefighting and emergency medical services. Participants completed 40 hours of firefighting career basics including fire science, fire suppression, fire inspection, fire prevention and fire investigation. The emergency medical services portion included 40 hours of training in pre-hospital emergency care earning the participants national certification as First Responders including Professional Rescuer CPR and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). Another unique aspect of this program was it was the first of its kind to allow referrals from the county juvenile court system as well as municipal courts for youth offenders required to do community service. Some juveniles were actually sentenced to the program. Participants provided on-site EMS care to a variety of events while staffing a BLS ambulance with the programs advisors and organizations officers.
      The explorer program became dormant due to lack of participation only to re-emerge in the 2002-2003 school year as an after school program for Atlantic City High School. The first year, 14 students participated one day a week after school for an entire school year with 10 earning national certification as First Responders. Due to the interest of the students and support of the school system, the program evolved into an in-school elective program with 13 students taking the New Jersey EMT-Basic course towards National and New Jersey certification testing in June 2004. The program continued into the 2004-2005 school year. The program ended due to logistics.
     Mutual Aid quickly realized that money was needed to continue its growth and service offerings. Fundraising was challenging as best and was in competition with local squads for the limited funds in the area. Therefore, Mutual Aid opted for obtaining State Licensure as a BLS/SCT ambulance service so that services could be provided with the cost for same being born by the health insurance carriers and/or the patients they served.
     This has led to Mutual Aid growing into a multi-faceted organization providing BLS and SCT emergency and no-emergency ambulance services, 911 services as well as becoming the premiere onsite EMS care provider for concert, special and sporting events. Customers of our services have included Atco Motor cross, Boardwalk Hall, and various Atlantic City Casinos, Atlantic City Convention Center, Boardwalk Bullies Hockey, Atlantic City Card Sharks Football, Atlantic City Dolphins Football, Atlantic City Vikings Football, Somers Point and EHT Sharks Football, Galloway Township Middle School sports and many more.
     In addition to these offerings, Mutual Aid has placed a high emphasis on Training and Safety by opening a Training and Safety Center in 2003. This facility focuses on continuing education of the organization’s members, developing continuing education offerings for the areas emergency services personnel as well as providing an additional EMT-Basic training resource for Atlantic County. To date, this division has held many CEU classes, raised the minimum qualifications and abilities of the members, held a job training program for EMT personnel and conducted multiple EMT-Basic programs. This division also provides CPR, AED and First Aid training to the business community and general public.
     The future of Mutual Aid is limited only by the needs of the surrounding area and the imaginations and creativity of its members.