a Statewide group of emergency medical responders say they're desperate for help but it's not volunteers the New Jersey EMS task force is looking for its cash the group of 185 First Responders say they need funding to continue saving lives Ted Goldberg reports I know every nook and cranny of this thing this thing is one of the ambulance buses operated by the New Jersey EMS task force they've got 12 of them Statewide we basically have the ability to transport supine or structure patients wheelchair patients or ambulatory patients just sitting in seats it's got everything and EMT needs a coffee machine medical supplies splints bandages cold packs warm packs we do have some automatic blood pressure cuffs yeah that link up to the iPad here so we can monitor 10 patients at one time and enough space to care for 20 patients all of these births are for stretchers but the buses are showing their age latches are Rusty the winch has broken multiple times and it's not fitted for electric stretchers it's about our back health and our bone health and our strength you have to lift so the structure itself is over 80 pounds and you put a 200 pound person on it you know you're almost 300 or or more pounds and it takes at least two people maybe three with the power stretchers it could take one the EMS task force has depended on these buses for about 15 years which is their average lifespan and replacing them is pricey they're asking for 23 million dollars in federal funding to fix up their Fleet and pay for other vehicles and pieces of equipment we've had rust mitigated just because like during Sandy and Irene you know we're driving through water and all these other floods you can clean it as much as you can and you can dry it as much as you can there's still water in and they still get rust spots we're still functioning a lot it's just a keep an eye on the end game I mean it's obviously at end of life somewhat Beyond end of life we've been able to continue to operate with them by investing a great deal on them I think the bus behind me has had over forty thousand dollars of Investments upgrades over the last year and a half those upgrades help the task force respond to a variety of emergencies around the state including forest fires mass casualty events and distributing vaccines in 2021 they helped move around 800 000 doses but they're worried that if they can't get funding from the American Rescue plan the task force could dissolve when you think of calling 9-1-1 it's police fire and EMS that safety Net's on fire and the MS task force is the surge capacity for whenever those guys need extra help bohock is an attorney and a lobbyist for the task force he says if the task force disappears that will mean a big burden on towns and cities this eventually will become a property taxpayer issue as more volunteer squads collapse as more paid professionals are necessary and if we don't do something now to stabilize this Statewide nationally we're going to be hurting at the local level in the meantime the task force will do what it can to maintain its buses and keep them ready for emergencies in Neptune I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight News