BUFFALO, N.Y. — Nearly 47 years ago the Town of Tonawanda broke new ground, becoming one of the first in the state to establish a dedicated paramedic unit to work with the town's police and fire departments.
It was the brain-child of the late supervisor James Ryan, and while his dream lives on, it is helped immensely by a foundation bearing his name. The James V. Ryan Paramedic Foundation is about to begin a whole new chapter.
Foundation founder Fay Ryan says the whole point of the organization is to support the service started by her husband.
"My husband decided as supervisor that it was an aging town, and we needed extra help for all these people. We didn't even have a hospital years ago and he thought that some sort of emergency unit connected with the police department would be a great service to our community, certainly has been," Fay said.
The dream became reality in June of 1975 when the Town of Tonawanda paramedic unit began service.
Currently, Tonawanda is the longest continuous serving paramedic unit in Western New York, and is believed to be the oldest in the state.
Fay Ryan started the foundation to help support the paramedic unit 35 years ago and has served as chairperson.
"People started donating to give the paramedics the things that the town and the police budget could no longer handle," Fay said.
Since 1985, the foundation has raised money to provide equipment and educational resources to not only the paramedics, but also other groups, such as buying A.E.D.'s for schools.
Fay has decided it is time to step down, handing the reigns off.
One person who shared his gratitude to the foundation and the paramedics is Kenmore Volunteer Fire Department member Felix Coniglio. Coniglio has seen how important they are from both sides of an emergency, having also received the help of the paramedics.
Coniglio was one of more than 6,000 calls to EMS, and one of the 428 COVID-19 calls they responded to in 2020.
"I was completely out of it and she rode with me all the way to the hospital and it turned out that I had COVID and I was in there for 54 days," Coniglio said.
Meanwhile Fay is just glad the foundation has been able to make such a huge difference for the people of Tonawanda.
"We've given over, in 35 years I think over two million dollars to give the paramedics the things the town couldn't afford," Fay said.
Ryan's replacement will be elected and announced at the board's February meeting, but what is certain is that the legacy of James Ryan will live on, to the benefit of residents of the Town of Tonawanda and beyond.