The Greenport Fire Department’s Rescue Squad is currently without Advanced Life Support certification, after inspectors from the New York State Department of Health suspended the squad’s ALS certification last week, but the Rescue Squad is continuing to respond to calls in partnership with medics from Stony Brook Emergency Medicine, as has long been the practice on the North Fork.
A New York State Department of Health spokesperson said Tuesday that the agency’s “license has not been revoked.”
Under state EMS law, known as Part 800, “ambulance services authorized to provide Advanced Life Support must maintain specific medications, including controlled substances. Because the agency is not currently maintaining those medications, it is presently limited to providing Basic Life Support level care,” according to the Health Department spokesperson.
Another media outlet had reported last week that the department’s ALS license was revoked.
“Residents should continue to dial 911 for any medical emergency,” according to the state Health Department spokesperson. “Local EMS systems operate under established mutual aid plans to ensure that emergency medical services are provided when needed. The current status of this individual ambulance service does not change how residents should request emergency assistance, and 911 calls will continue to be answered and appropriate EMS resources dispatched.”
As the number of volunteer, highly trained paramedics has declined throughout the region in recent years, Greenport and other fire department rescue squads throughout the North Fork already rely heavily on mutual aid plans with Stony Brook University Emergency Medical Services to provide ALS services.
Stony Brook Paramedics respond to all medical calls on the North Fork and generally provide ALS services on fire department ambulances during transport if no volunteer paramedic is available — including starting IVs and administering most medications, while volunteer fire department Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) provide Basic Life Support services including routine medical and trauma care, oxygen therapy, CPR and administration of basic medications.
“There is no change in our service. Working with our Stony Brook Paramedic partners, GFD continues to provide high quality ALS and BLS emergency medical services to our community,” said Greenport Fire Department Second Assistant Chief David Nyce, who is also an EMT, on Tuesday.
On the North Fork, Stony Brook medics respond to calls for medical help in Stony Brook ‘fly cars,’ classified by the state as Advanced Life Support First Responders (ALSFR).
Two of these responders are stationed with fly cars in Southold Town, geographically positioned in the eastern and western portions of the town. These medics respond to all EMS calls in partnership with local fire department rescue squads and ride the ambulance with the fire department crews if ALS services are needed and no volunteer ALS providers are available, said Eric Niegelberg, Assistant Vice President of Operations for Emergency Services at Stony Brook Medicine.
The Stony Brook medics are often the lead health care provider on these calls, and they provide care regardless of whether the destination is a Stony Brook facility or part of another hospital network, such as Northwell Health’s Peconic Bay Medical Center, he said.
The Stony Brook Medic ALSFR vehicles have their own certifications, and are not impacted by the state inspection of Greenport, he added.
Though he did not comment on the state inspection, Greenport Fire Department Chief Albie deKerillis said Tuesday that the chiefs had been advised late last year of “a serious violation of department bylaws” — the installation of a surveillance camera in the truck bay of the firehouse by members of the fire department.
“Following a thorough investigation, formal charges were filed, and a fair hearing was conducted. After careful deliberation, a unanimous decision regarding responsibility and discipline was reached and ordered,” he said, adding that two members were suspended but “all participants in that process were and remain volunteer members of the department. We extend our sincere appreciation for their service and professionalism under added demands at a time when fire departments are contending with decreased volunteerism and unprecedented call volumes.”
He did not respond to a request for further comment on the violation or its relationship to the state inspection.
Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi referred comment to the fire chiefs. Mr. Stuessi and the Greenport Village Board serve as the commissioners of the Greenport Fire District.
State inspections are usually conducted without prior notice, and involve inspection of vehicles and documentation, known as “Part 800 compliance.” Expired medications, often due to a lack of qualified volunteer ALS providers to maintain them, are a frequent cause of failed state Department of Health inspections.
The Department of Health Spokesperson said the Greenport Fire Department “has voluntarily returned certain medications, including controlled substances, to the hospital that issues them” after losing its ALS status.
“Because this matter involves an ongoing review, the department is limited in the level of detail we can provide at this time,” added the spokesperson.
The Greenport Fire Department Rescue Squad had 26 volunteer Rescue Squad personnel as of 2025, and is still all-volunteer at a time when neighboring fire departments, including Cutchogue and Mattituck, have begun to augment their Rescue Squad services with paid EMTs on staff.
Changes to the state certifying programs for emergency medical services have contributed to the recent dearth of volunteer ALS providers throughout the state.
Basic Emergency Medical Technicians, known as EMT-Bs, go through a certification process that involves 160 hours of initial training, recertified via 65 hours of training every three years.
New York State recently phased out its Advanced Emergency Medical Technician — Critical Care (AEMT-CC) program, an ALS certification which had required 700 hours of initial training, and the next level of training, Paramedic, requires 1,600 hours of initial training.
On the North Fork, basic calls are often handled by volunteer (and in some cases paid) EMT-Bs, but the extensive training requirements for paramedics, along with the end of the AEMT-CC program, has led to a decline in recent years in the number of volunteer ALS providers here.
The Greenport Fire Department responded to a record 1,221 calls — the majority of which were ambulance calls, in 2025, up from 1144 in 2024. The department had responded to 74 calls in January of this year, the most recent monthly data currently available. Of those calls, 51 were ambulance calls, 13 were automatic alarms, and the remainder were miscellaneous calls.
“We are extremely proud of our volunteers’ ongoing ability to meet unprecedented demand at a level of call volume unmatched on the North Fork,” said Chief Nyce.
Editor’s Note: The author of this article is a journalist by trade and a volunteer EMT-B with the Cutchogue Fire Department.
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