The Board of Commissioners of the New Hyde Park and Garden City Park Fire Districts have taken a bold step to ensure the highest quality of medical attention at the earliest possible moment for its taxpayers. The commissioners realize the demands put upon the volunteers of both fire departments. Many of our volunteers have more than one job. They have families which require a tremendous amount of time beyond their work day. They attend countless hours of training, attend drills and respond to fire and rescue calls, not leaving much time for sleep or rest. The volunteers are a valuable resource who should not be taken for granted.

The Board of Commissioners has analyzed all the types of emergency calls, when they occur and the response time of our volunteers. With most volunteers working during daytime hours and the amount of rescue calls being received daily, the manpower of the fire department was being taxed during the daytime. The best resolution of this problem is to supplement the manpower of each department.

Therefore, the board of commissioners from New Hyde Park and Garden City Park Fire Districts have entered into a municipal agreement to provide a paid paramedic on staff Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., in an emergency response vehicle. This vehicle will have the necessary equipment for the paramedic to respond immediately to the scene. In addition, the volunteers would then respond with the ambulance. The first few minutes following any accident are very critical when providing emergency care to anyone who may require assistance. The name "FLYCAR" has been given to this emergency response vehicle.

The Board of Commissioners from New Hyde Park are John Molenski, Reid Sakowich, John Niewender, Anthony Fishetti, and Rich Papa. The Board of Commissioners from Garden City Park are Alan Cooper, Michael McGillicudy and Donald Thomas Olsen. The commissioners announced that this service will begin in the near future.