SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange Rescue Squad, an all-volunteer outfit, will hold a dedication and public open house on Saturday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to celebrate the grand opening of its new EMS headquarters at 62 Sloan St. in South Orange.
The new state-of-the-art headquarters features an ambulance bay for three ambulances plus a first-responder vehicle, training and meeting rooms, a kitchen and bunk rooms. It is located next to the historic South Orange Fire Department on Sloan Street. The headquarters is dedicated in the memory of former squad member Mary L. Connor, who devoted more than 40 years to serving the community before her death in 2015 at the age of 82.
Established in 1952, SORS spent 43 years at their previous location, which did not meet the needs for a modern, growing EMS agency. When the old headquarters was demolished to make room for the new Third and Valley real estate redevelopment, this much needed upgrade was planned. Over the past two years, SORS has worked to raise money to complete the construction by holding fundraisers, applying for grants, and selling engraved bricks and tiles that are now a permanent part of the building.
Through its Neighborhood Assist Program, State Farm donated $25,000 to help support the work of the SORS.
“As one of 40 organizations chosen out of 4,000 applicants, the SORS aligns with our commitment to ensure better educated and safe communities,” Jennifer Young of State Farm said in a press release. “We are happy to support their training programs and know that they will continue to provide great services to the community.”
“Our new building will allow us to once again have a safe, secure and appropriate facility from which to base our operations” SORS Capt. Dan Cohen said in the release. “We are grateful to have such amazing community support so that we could reach this goal, complete the rebuilding of our headquarters and be able to better serve our neighbors.”
“Our members handled being displaced for two years extremely well,” SORS President Melanie Troncone said in the release, “but we are all so excited to finally be back in an appropriate facility and we can’t wait to show the public our new headquarters.”
The event will feature speeches and awards, as well as a ribbon-cutting followed by an open house for the public to tour the new building and ambulances, as well as activities for children and demonstrations of EMS equipment.
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