
The following information was posted on Derby mayor Rich Dziekan’s Facebook page:
As EMS week comes to a close, it serves as a reminder that the Storm Engine Company Ambulance Corps has delivered medical and rescue services to the citizens of Derby and the valley for 70 years.
I would like to thank all of those who have volunteered their time as members.
EMS work is extremely stressful and those who volunteer are truly a special breed.
EMT’s are responsible for comforting patients and family members and are often tasked with delivering the saddest of all news. Weather, traffic, hostility and frayed nerves are challenges that compound the difficulties of an already daunting job.
We have been fortunate to have great leaders in EMS, Rescue and Haz-mat from Derby and the surrounding communities.
Thank you the families of those men and women who were patient and understanding of the long hours served in the interest of those who required assistance in the worst of times.
It all started with a wish to see people taken to the hospital quickly when Ed Cotter and Dick Kieley got themselves a loaner ambulance in December of 1948.
By then end of January 1949, they received enough donations to pay for it. The need for this service and continual answer of the call is still evident today.