Congratulations to our Engineer Jason Mayer, a volunteer with SBES  who graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a B.S. Information Technology. 

Engineer Mayer joined our agency as a volunteer in December 2016, obtained his EMT, and quickly became a Team Leader.  He has also held the position of EMS Lieutenant, and is an active volunteer with the Town of Clinton Fire Department.

​Jason was a recipient of the Colonel Fairleigh S Dickinson Scholarship at the University.  

Annandale, NJ – Chief Thomas DeRosa, Chief of the Clinton Township Police, and Chief Frank Setnicky, Chief of the South Branch Emergency Services, announce the return of the Clinton Township Junior Police & Emergency Services Academy.

The program will run from June 27 th through July 1 st , 2022, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and is open to individuals age 12-16 who have an interest in learning more about the public safety career path.

Planned activities for the week include marching, physical training, exposure to simulated police work, emergency first aid training, classroom time, guest speakers, presentations and a trip to the Freedom Tower.

Applicants will be screened and preference will be given to Clinton Township residents.

There is no charge, however class size is capped at 30 participants; all applications received from qualified applicants will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The application process will close on June 10, 2022 at 4:00 pm and participants will be notified of their acceptance thereafter.

Applications are available at the Clinton Township Police Department, 1370 Route 31, Annandale or online at www.ctpd.org 

Appointments preferred.  Visit https://nybc.org/newjerseydrive
use sponsor code 12443
or call 800-933-2566

On Saturday 22 January at 1550 Hours, the Hunterdon County Technical Rescue Task Force was dispatched to a residence in Alexandria Township at the request of the Kingwood Township Volunteer Fire Company (16) for a motor vehicle crash with structural damage to the home. There were no injuries reported.

On arrival, HCTRTF personnel found a column between the garage doors had been destroyed in the crash. Paratech 610 struts were used as temporary spot shores so that the vehicles involved could be carefully pushed out of the way and into the driveway. A three post vertical shore was then installed to support the second floor joists left unsupported by the column being knocked out. The shore was built in place in order to work around the garage door tracks. The local building department official was satisfied by the temporary support provided by the shore, and personnel were then released by command / Kingwood Fire.
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The HCTRTF is composed of several agencies, including Lambertville FD, Whitehouse Rescue Squad, South Branch Emergency Services, Flemington-Raritan Rescue Squad, and Hunterdon County Emergency Management.

CLINTON, NJ—South Branch Emergency Services (SBES) announced January 4, 2022, that it has appointed long-time volunteer chief Frank Setnicky as the organization’s first full-time paid chief.

The decision to reconfigure SBES’s top job was two-fold, said SBES President Sharon Burham.

The chief’s responsibilities have grown significantly, along with an increase in service area and people served. In 2020, the former Clinton First Aid & Rescue and High Bridge Emergency squads merged to create SBES. On January 1, 2022, Hampton Emergency Squad and SBES completed their merger.

When deputy chief of EMS/operations Bucky Buchanan announced he would leave SBES to serve on the New Jersey EMS Task Force, “It seemed like the right time to combine most of the two leadership positions into a single, full-time, paid role,” Burham said. “We were very lucky that Frank—with his years of experience in volunteer and career EMS leadership, his vast knowledge of the profession, and the tremendous relationships he already has with our career and volunteer staff—was available.”

Setnicky has led SBES and the former Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad for decades. He already had six years’ experience as a volunteer EMT when he joined Clinton in 1984, and has been chief for the majority of those years. He also has significant experience as a full-time paid EMT and EMS chief.

Setnicky retired in fall 2021 as chief of Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, a job he held for 15 years. He had served Princeton as a career EMT for the previous two decades.

As of January 1 when the merger with Hampton took effect, Setnicky is now overseeing the emergency services that SBES offers to the town of Clinton, Clinton Township, Lebanon Borough, High Bridge Borough, Hampton, Glen Gardner and portions of Bethlehem, Franklin, Union, and Tewksbury townships. He will lead 90 volunteers, 32 career EMTs, and 15 instructors who teach the courses offered at the SBES Training Center.

“Now, I will have even more time to commit to South Branch Emergency Services than when I volunteered here but worked full time elsewhere,” Setnicky said. “I will still ride the ambulance once a week, as I do now.”

Setnicky’s expanded role includes direct supervision of paid staff members along with payroll and other administrative tasks. He will now be the squad’s liaison with community leaders.

Setnicky and Burham both acknowledged the contributions Buchanan has made to first Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad and now SBES, and thanked him for his dedication.
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“Bucky brought us a long way, and did a terrific job as the day-to-day face of the squad. He has put us in a great position to move forward,” Setnicky said. “We will miss him, but we’re happy for him. And he has promised us that he will still help if his help is needed.”

We would like to thank all the team members who will be completing their officer positions this year, and for your volunteer service.  

The Employment Committee of South Branch Emergency Services, Inc is pleased to announce the promotion of per diem EMT/FF Ryan Nelson to the position of Full Time EMT/Operations Lieutenant.  He will be replacing Lt. Ryan Clancy who departed SBES in August for a position in the Murfreesboro Tennessee Fire Department.  

Lt. Nelson is no stranger to SBES!  He joined our team through the Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad as a per diem EMT back in October 2006.  Ryan has served many roles here at SBES, including Per Diem, Part Time and Full Time EMT, volunteer on our Rescue Company as a Rescue Tech/Firefighter, as well as many other organizations.  

Ryan got his start in Emergency Services following in both his parents footsteps back in 2002, joining the Hampton Fire Company.   Since that time he has served many, many departments, in several states, including the Milford-Holland Rescue Squad, Hampton Emergency Squad, East Whitehouse Fire Department, St Lukes EMS, Hunterdon Medical Center Security, and the list can continue.   He is also Past-Chief of Hampton Emergency Squad

In his spare time, the few moments he isn't working, Ryan enjoys spending time with his son Chase traveling to street fairs, race tracks, backyard farming and camping.

We welcome Ryan back to the full time team, now as an officer here at SBES!

Hunterdon County, NJ...Hampton Emergency Squad, which provides emergency medical care in Hampton, Glen Gardner and Bethlehem Township, will merge with South Branch Emergency Services on January 1, 2022, leaders from both organizations announced. The resulting organization will operate under the South Branch name and provide coverage to all areas currently served by the two entities.

“We’re very excited about it,” said Hampton Chief Penny Tampier. “The people are going to get better service.”

Residents served by Hampton are already familiar with South Branch, whose EMTs provide daytime coverage from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Currently, Hampton volunteers respond to nighttime emergencies from home, heading first to the station and then to the call.  After the merger, on-duty squad members will respond directly to emergencies. “Response times should be much quicker,” Tampier said.

A decline in volunteers – gradual for years, and recently abrupt – led Hampton Emergency Squad leaders to seek the merger, Tampier said. The gradual decline in volunteer numbers and daytime availability is a problem faced by all volunteer-based emergency services, and what led Hampton to seek a daytime coverage partnership nearly two decades ago. Then in 2021, Hampton’s volunteer roster dropped sharply, from 20 EMTs. Some volunteers moved or went back to college. 

“We want to be able to give the same high level of care that we were always able to in the past, the level of care that people expect from us, and this merger allows that to happen” stressed Chief Tampier.​

South Branch Emergency Services (SBES)  is led and largely staffed by volunteers who donate their skills and time to save lives, but what they do is not free! From ambulances and rescue trucks to air masks and bandages, SBES has many expenses to cover and needs the help of the community to do so.

“We are asking community members to consider making a tax-deductible donation,” said Chief Frank Setnicky. “Whatever a household can afford will help us afford the apparatus, equipment, and supplies we need to respond to medical and other emergencies.” Last year, South Branch’s 159 team members responded to 3,736 calls for help in Clinton Township, the Town of Clinton, High Bridge Borough, Lebanon Borough, and portions of Franklin Township and Union Township, amongst several others.  Residents of those townships should have received information about donating in the mail.  Donations can also be made online at www.sbes365.org.

SBES volunteers donate more than 30,000 hours annually to on-call shifts, response, and training. Even at minimum wage, that’s equivalent to more than $250,000 in savings to taxpayers.

“Their generous contribution is one leg of a stool, but the stool can’t stand without it’s other legs: municipal funding, ambulance billing, and financial support from our community,” said SBES President Sharon Burham. “Community support also shows the volunteers who take time away from their family, friends, hobbies, and sometimes even sleep to help their neighbors,” she said. 

Looking for other ways to assist SBES?

• To include SBES in your will or other estate planning, email treasurer@sbes365.org and someone will contact you.
  
• ​Donate your time and talent as a volunteer. SBES always needs more EMTs, rescue and water rescue associates, teen cadets, and non-emergency volunteers! Visit www.sbes365.org to learn more or sign up.

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