Our Mission
To provide 24-hour, compassionate, caring, emergency medical services to the Sparta community.
Who We Are
Welcome to the home of Sparta Ambulance Squad (SAS), providing compassionate, professional Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the township of Sparta, New Jersey and surrounding communities since 1947. We stand ready to respond to your emergencies twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
SAS was founded as Sparta Ambulance Service on July 11, 1947 by members of the local VFW Post #7248. The Service answered 48 calls in its first year of operation using a single ambulance. At that time, the Service’s headquarters was located at the VFW Hall on Main Street. Members were required to be trained in basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). As the years have gone by, much has changed. Known in the community as the Sparta Ambulance Squad, our headquarters is now located on Sparta Avenue and houses three ambulances and an emergency response unit.
In the Fall of 2012, faced with difficulties finding volunteers available to staff the ambulance during weekday business hours plus the loss of significant training funding provided by the State of New Jersey, the Sparta Ambulance Squad made the difficult decision to begin billing our patients in order to help defray the significant costs of hiring paid employees who provide coverage during weekdays as well as to cover the high cost of medical training and certification required of our volunteers.
From Monday through Friday between the hours of 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM as well as all day Saturday and Sunday, our ambulances are staffed with all volunteer NJ State Department of Health licensed Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and trained ambulance drivers. From Monday through Friday between the hours of 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM, one ambulance is staffed by our paid EMT’s. Volunteer members also continue to respond when available during this time frame when additional assistance is needed.
In 2021, SAS responded to approximately 1,270 calls for assistance.
We continue to operate with the majority of hours staffed by volunteer members and remain committed to our mission to serve our community.
Give the gift of your time and talents in service to your community — we are actively recruiting new volunteers, select ‘Join Us’ for more information.