North East Quadrant Advanced Life Support and Webster Emergency Medical Service

First Responders | North East Quadrant Advanced Life Support and Webster Emergency Medical Service
www.neqals.org

The North East Quadrant Advanced Life Support Service had its beginnings in 1985 as a community extension of Xerox Corporation’s campus ALS service.  The first medics, Bob Karnisky, Gene Faucz, and Gino Tomasino, were Xerox employees who trained on their own time, served their colleagues on-site as needed, and were allowed to take their first vehicle, Medic 10, home on nights and weekends to serve their community as well.

When volunteers answered 500 calls that first year, the need for a community-based service became clear.  The Town of Webster and its three Fire Associations worked with Xerox to create an independent service where paramedics would supplement EMT ambulance services in Webster; NEQALS was incorporated in 1987. 

The new service grew rapidly and had to adapt to increased demands.  Flycars (Medic 11 was added in 1994 and Medic 12 in 2004; a tandem bike patrol with emergency equipment and supplies was added in 2001) were stored wherever space was available, at the Webster Fire Station on South Avenue, at volunteers’ homes, the Ebner Drive town building and Bill Boulter’s garage space on Publisher’s Pkwy.  Despite the space and location challenges, NEQALS handled increasing numbers of calls, including the CPR for a heart-attack victim at Penfield Arby’s in 1996 and defibrillator use for cardiac arrest both at a Garlic Pit restaurant and a Schroeder swim meet in 2003.  In 2002, the service began to transition its business model to paid staff and insurance billing.  NEQALS was able to consolidate all operations and assets in a leased space at 780 Ridge Road in 2007.

The organization continues to adapt its service model to the changing needs of the Webster community.  In 2016, NEQALS paramedics were directly dispatched to over 3000 emergency calls.  Their 65 employees staffed thousands of additional emergency calls for ambulance vehicles in Webster, Williamson, Marion, Walworth, and Macedon which contract for NEQALS services.  Vehicles regularly wait for calls at town, school, and sporting events.  In 2016, NEQALS contracted with the Town of Webster to provide supplemental ambulance services as part of the Webster Emergency Medical Service, equipped with its own vehicle.  Because of tremendous growth in staff and service, NEQALS has purchased a two-acre property at 1030 Jackson Road for a building of its own in the future.

Presidents/ Board Chairpersons:

  • 1987-1990:  Geno Tomasino
  • 1990-1993:  James Lannom
  • 1993-2001:  Eugene Faucz
  • 2001-2016:  Robert Meddaugh
  • 2016 –      :  S. Ahmed Mustafa

Sources: 

February, 2019