09/12/2026
A LOOK BACK 25 YEARS AGO: WASHINGTON COUNTY EMS AGENCIES "ANSWER THE CALL", 9-11 EMS TASK FORCE FORMED, RESPONDS TO NYC
SEPTEMBER 11TH AND THE CALL TO RESPOND
Following the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the NYSDOH - New York State Health Department - Bureau of Emergency Medical Services activated the New York State EMS Mobilization Plan. The purpose of the mobilization plan was to coordinate EMS resources from throughout New York State and deploy them to New York City to support the Fire Department of the City of New York and the city's emergency medical services system.
For EMS agencies throughout the state, the request represented an opportunity to assist fellow emergency responders who had been placed in an unprecedented situation. Washington County and many of our community EMS agencies and responders quickly answered the call.
THE FIRST DEPLOYMENT
On September 14th, New York State DOH BEMS requested agencies from Washington County to respond to New York City for a 24-hour operational period beginning at midnight on September 15th. Washington County quickly put together our own "EMS Task Force", assembling personnel and ambulances from several agencies throughout the county to respond to New York City in support of the needs of our downstate partners and the city.
The first deployment consisted of resources from the following agencies:
- Argyle Emergency Squad
- Cambridge Valley Rescue Squad, Inc
- Fort Ann Rescue Squad
- Fort Edward Rescue Squad
- Granville Rescue Squad, Inc.
- Easton-Greenwich Rescue Squad
- Skenesborough Emergency Squad INC
- Salem Rescue Squad
Members of our own community EMS agencies departed Washington County and traveled to New York City with the understanding they were going into an environment unlike anything they had previously experienced. Upon arrival, the units were directed to Chelsea Pier, where they were staged and awaited assignments.
For many of the responders, the significance of where they were and why they were there was difficult to put into words. They had come from small communities in Washington County to assist one of the largest cities in the country at a time when the city's public safety system was under extraordinary strain. They were there simply to do what EMS providers do: respond, provide care, and help wherever they were needed.
THE SECOND DEPLOYMENT
The Washington County EMS Task Force was called upon again on September 22nd. The instructions were similar to those received on September 14th, agencies were directed to report to Chelsea Pier for another 24-hour operational period beginning at midnight.
The second deployment included resources from:
- Argyle Emergency Squad
- Cambridge Valley Rescue Squad, Inc
- Fort Ann Rescue Squad
- Fort Edward Rescue Squad
- Granville Rescue Squad, Inc.
The Task Force was assigned to provide EMS coverage south of Canal Street in Manhattan. During the deployments, Washington County ambulances responded to a variety of calls for service, including 9-1-1 emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, standby assignments, and calls at and around the area known as Ground Zero.
Although the Washington County crews were not there to replace New York City's emergency responders, their presence allowed local resources to remain available for the continuing needs of the city. Every call became part of an experience that the responders would carry home with them.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF WELCOME
One of the most memorable aspects of the deployment for Washington County responders occurred not necessarily on the streets, but inside the hospitals. Crews who transported patients to New York City hospitals, including Saint Vincent's Hospital, were struck by the way they were received by the hospital staff. Doctors and nurses showed the Washington County crews tremendous respect and professionalism.
The responders had traveled to New York City expecting to provide assistance, however, found themselves receiving gratitude and appreciation in return. The experience reinforced something that many of the responders already understood: EMS is a community, regardless of where that community happens to be.
An ambulance may have come from Washington County, but once it arrived in Manhattan, its crew was treated as part of the larger emergency medical services family.
AN ENCOUNTER IN CITY HALL PARK
One Washington County Task Force medic remembers an encounter that perhaps best illustrated the human side of the response. While posted in the area of City Hall Park, the medic began talking with a Captain from the New York City Police Department. What began as a conversation lasted for more than an hour.
In reality, the medic recalls that it was less a conversation than an opportunity to listen. The Captain was trying to process what had happened. He was dealing with the enormity of the attacks, the loss of fellow officers and public safety personnel, and the realization that the city he served had been changed forever. The Captain also spoke about the response that had come from public safety agencies throughout New York State. He expressed his amazement at the number of agencies and personnel who had come to New York City to help.
Then he said something that stuck with that medic from Washington County: “We don’t know what to do with the help we’ve received. This doesn’t happen in New York City. We are the ones who help everyone else. Hell, the NYPD was one of the first agencies to send resources and manpower to Oklahoma City.”
His reference was to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. For the Captain, the situation represented something unfamiliar. The New York City Police Department was accustomed to being the agency that answered the call elsewhere. Now, New York City was the one receiving help. And help had come from everywhere (including members of our own Washington County Sheriff's Office (NY)).
ONE EMS SYSTEM
For responders coming from "upstate" (Washington County), the experience of being accepted into the New York City EMS system was equally significant. They were not treated as outsiders. They were not simply personnel from another county who had been sent to fill a vacant assignment. They were treated as fellow EMS providers.
They worked alongside New York City responders and operated as part of the larger emergency response effort. The distinction between a small-town ambulance service and a major metropolitan EMS system seemed to disappear. Everyone was there for the same reason. Everyone had the same responsibility. Take care of the patient. Help the community. Support your fellow responder.
LOOKING BACK
For the members of the Washington County EMS Task Force, the opportunity to respond to New York City following September 11th was both humbling and an honor.
Our community responders witnessed a city that had suffered an unimaginable loss. They saw public safety professionals continuing to work despite exhaustion, grief, and uncertainty. They encountered people who were trying to make sense of events that, at the time, seemed impossible to comprehend.
They also witnessed something else. They saw the public safety community come together. Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers, hospital personnel, and other emergency responders from communities throughout New York State traveled to New York City to help. They came from large departments and small volunteer agencies. They came from communities that were accustomed to helping their neighbors, and they extended that same principle to New York City.
Washington County was among them. The members of the Task Force did not consider themselves heroes. They were EMS providers responding to a request for assistance. They brought ambulances, equipment, manpower, and a willingness to serve.
But history sometimes gives ordinary people an extraordinary responsibility.
MEMORIES THAT REMAIN
More than two decades later, the memories of those deployments remain with the people who made the journey. They remember the calls. They remember the streets of Manhattan. They remember Ground Zero. They remember the hospitals and the appreciation shown by doctors and nurses. They remember the New York City responders who were working through grief and exhaustion.
Perhaps most importantly, they remember that, for a brief period of time, the boundaries between agencies, counties, and communities disappeared. There was simply one emergency services community responding to a city in need.
The members of the Washington County EMS Task Force were forever honored to respond. They answered the call. They went where they were needed. They stood alongside their fellow responders. And they came home carrying memories that would remain with them forever.
~ Post compiled and composed referencing historical information, notes and photos from Glen Gosnell.
