If you have a medical emergency in Wilton, you may not realize that the ambulance crew that comes to your rescue is comprised entirely of volunteers. Actor and The Sopranos star Joe Pantoliano was one of those who didn’t know.
In May of 2020, Joe went for a walk with his wife, two of his kids, and his dogs near his Wilton residence. It had been a rainy week, but in those early pandemic days, "I wanted to get out," Joe tells Westport Lifestyle. "So we went, even though it was overcast and still drizzly." Along the route, Joe stopped to photograph a double rainbow. When he went to catch up with his family, who had crossed a street without him, "there was an explosion," he recalls. A car waiting to make a left-hand turn hit Joe. "I was on the ground," he recalls, and injured. Before long, an ambulance arrived and carted him away to the hospital.
Joe recovered, but it wasn’t until much later that he learned that the crew who saved him was comprised entirely of volunteers. “I thought they were being paid!” he says. “A lot of people within Wilton don’t know that we have a volunteer ambulance corps,” explains Esther Hilbers, MSc, the president of the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps (WVAC). These volunteers provide a necessary service, all on their own time. “If there’s no ambulance service in places like Wilton or Westport, which have all-volunteer corps, then the ambulances need to come from Norwalk, and we will lose lives.”
Joe is sharing his story in an effort to raise awareness and funds about the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, an organization of 65 volunteer members, with two volunteer-operated and- maintained ambulances, who provide emergency medical services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Esther says the WVAC fields five or six calls a day on average. “It may not sound like a lot, but if you are the one having a heart attack, or your loved one is having a stroke, you want the ambulance there in minutes.” (She says it takes no more than eight minutes for them to reach any point in Wilton.)
Donations to the WVAC go first and foremost, says Esther, to the ambulances themselves, which volunteers take care of and maintain. Funds also support their trainings for volunteers, which happen at least once a month and keep the personnel up to date with the latest standards. Lastly, funds help maintain WVAC presence at town events, like parades, football games, and community gatherings. “Whenever there’s a big crowd, we’re there for members of the community,” explains Esther. “Being part of the WVAC is like a second family. It’s a wonderful way of giving back.”
To make a donation or explore volunteer opportunities with the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, visit wiltonambulance.org