Following Hurricane Sandy, representatives from Cetronia Ambulance Corps. provided emergency and disaster relief services in Atlantic, Ocean and Monmouth counties in New Jersey.

Cetronia's teams operated in conjunction with other Pennsylvania EMS Strike Teams providing relief, shelter support and search and rescue operations.

"We are proud to have men and women on our teams that are dedicated to disaster response, not only in our local area, but for areas throughout the country that need assistance when devastation strikes," said Larry Wiersch, Cetronia CEO.

In the past, Cetronia has provided strike teams sent to help after Hurricanes Katrina and Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

"Preparedness and readiness are key elements both prior to and after disaster strikes. Ensuring that we are always ready to help is a key mission that we have as an EMS agency in the community and making sure that everyone returns home safely is a true testament of success when we help others in their recovery," said Wiersch.

The first strike team deployment was activated immediately following Hurricane Sandy, with crews departing Oct. 30 and returning Nov. 5. Their mission was to assist New Jersey EMS operations by providing back up services to local first aid squads and fire departments that lost their equipment during the storm. They also provided support to medical staff at the Red Cross shelters and assisted in transporting special needs residents.

"This mission once again proved that EMS is about helping others and working together as a team regardless of the background or patch that is worn. The countless number of citizens that showed their appreciation by saying thank you, waving or coming to the base camp to provide food demonstrated that our teams were greatly appreciated, "said Michael LaPearl, Cetronia Ambulance Corps operations supervisor.

A second team was activated Nov. 2 and members returned Nov. 10. Their mission was to primarily assist with the emergency response in the towns of Hazlet, Union Beach and Keyport.

"Union Beach was hit the hardest; their EMS company lost all of its equipment and its station. When we arrived on scene, the Union Beach EMS chief was so happy we came to help that he cried. A lot of the time it feels like EMS isn't appreciated or that we are the tail end of the funding line. It's things like this that make it all worthwhile," stated Brad Miller, EMT-P, Cetronia crew chief.

The Pennsylvania Region II Strike Team is managed by the Eastern Pennsylvania EMS Council of which Cetronia Ambulance commits two vehicles with four people per vehicle to the team. A total of 16 emergency personnel from Cetronia receive extensive annual training in disaster operations and are members of the regional team.

Each team from Cetronia consisted of two emergency medical technicians (EMTs), two paramedics and an advanced life support equipped ambulance, all outfitted to remain in the field without support for up to seven days.

"The areas assisted by the PA EMS Strike Team were completely devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Most were without basic services for over a week and some areas lost all of their emergency equipment. All of the Strike Team crews were welcomed with an outpouring of support from the affected communities," added Miller.