Norwood EMS, the Volunteer Ambulance Corps serving the Borough of Norwood, was founded in 1947 by a group of concerned citizens, of which the children and grand-children still serve and volunteer in our town today.  The first call for an ambulance was on September 24, 1947, to respond to the scene of a motor vehicle crash at Blanch Avenue and Livingston Street.  Ten years later, in October of 1957, the Corps announced that it had made its one thousandth call, an “emergency oxygen case” in which a resident was taken to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck.  In 2002, Norwood EMS answered 490 calls for help, transporting victims of illness and injury to area hospitals.

     Norwood’s first ambulance was a 1936 Studebaker, purchased from the Borough of Cresskill for one dollar.  The first ambulance purchased new was a 1969 Miller-Meteor Cadillac.  During the years 1979-1993 Norwood EMS operated a rescue/support unit alongside its ambulance.  Since 1994, Norwood EMS has had two ambulances; and in 1996 the organization became the first in the Northern Valley to put in service a First Responder Unit, capable of delivering a trained Emergency Medical Technician to the scene of illness or injury within moments.  In 2002, Norwood EMS became one of the first volunteer providers in the state to field an EMS bicycle, responding on-scene in large crowds and major events in the Borough. 

      An article in the Bergen Record of September 11, 1957 mentions donations made to the Corps by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Morse of Summit Street, who had a swimming pool that neighborhood children were allowed to use, and who kept a jar by their pool for collection of nickels, dimes, and pennies from the swimmers.  Throughout the early years, funds were raised by card parties and collections.  On May 31, 2003, Norwood EMS hosted its first annual dinner theatre fundraiser with great fun and success, thanks to the residents of Norwood and the generosity of local businesses.

     Since its inception, Norwood EMS has been 100% volunteer, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and three hundred sixty-five days a year.  Your neighbors and friends, the Emergency Medical Technicians of Norwood EMS, leave their homes, their beds, their work, and their dinner tables to respond to your call for help.  Working diligently alongside the volunteer members of the Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, and Northvale Ambulance Corps, Norwood EMS helps complete a mutual aid system that protects and serves all the citizens of the Northern Valley