Wednesday, April 20, 2011 By now most residents have probably heard that the Fair Lawn Borough Council approved an ordinance allowing the Borough of Fair Lawn, through a third-party billing system, to charge a fee for ambulance transportation. What has not been made clear however is that the fees are being charged by, and paid to the Borough of Fair Lawn, and DO NOT go to the Fair Lawn VolunteerAmbulance Corps (FLVAC), the organization providing those emergency services. The Borough will have bills sent to a patient’s insurance provider for the use of the ambulance, NOT for the service provided by the FLVAC. Additionally, if a resident does not have insurance or if the insurance does not pay the entire amount, residents will NOT be billed directly. (note: Insurance companies who require the insured to be involved with the payment of services to the Borough of Fair Lawn will receive a bill for administrative purposes only.)

While the Borough does supply the FLVAC with some equipment, insurance and vehicle maintenance, the ambulance corps is a self-sustaining and independent 100% volunteer organization. We have always depended on several sources for income, the majority of which being donations from residents through our annual fund drive. These donations are used to pay for equipment, training materials, uniforms, our headquarters and regular operating expenses. This ongoing commitment between the ambulance corps and the residents has, for 52 years, allowed FLVAC to maintain several fully equipped ambulances ready to respond 24/7 whenever Fair Lawn residents or visitors to Fair Lawn need help .