Two weeks ago, the mayor of the Village of Great Neck was quoted in your newspaper saying, “We have to look at both the service and what kind of people come to the scene, as well as the police that sometimes need to be taken away from patrol because they need to help with the transport of a patient. We’re trying to create an environment that is going to keep the police where they’re supposed to be.”
As the chief of the Vigilant Fire Company, I feel it is my duty to respond to this patently false statement.
As far as I know, at no point since I became chief in 2014 has any Nassau County Police Officer ever driven a Vigilant Fire Company ambulance to a hospital.
The only time a member of the Nassau County Police Department rides a Vigilant ambulance is when the lives of our members are potentially in danger — and the police are in the back of the ambulance to ensure the safety of our dedicated volunteers.
If as the mayor stated, “the safety of the community is the most important thing,” then I urge him not to change to an EMS provider whose only backup would be a Nassau County Police ambulance.
The Vigilant Fire Company would no longer be able to respond to calls in the Village of Great Neck. Not only will response times increase dramatically, putting residents’ well-being at risk, but two Nassau County Police Department cars will be removed from patrol to transport patients every time they respond.
If the mayor truly cares about the lives of his constituents and doesn’t want to remove police officers from patrol, then he has an easy decision: Continue the 80-year relationship with the Vigilant Fire Company.
Joshua Forst
Chief of Department –
Vigilant Fire Company
