The Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps was founded in 1953 by a small, dedicated group of individuals. First known as the Lancaster Town Police Ambulance Service, it was the first volunteer ambulance service in Western New York.
Dr. Albin Kwak, left, and Chief Earl Swietzer with the town's first ambulance.
The driving forces behind the squad’s birth was a diverse group of individuals: two doctors (Albert Addessa and Albin Kwak), police personnel (Earl Swietzer and Victor Ott), and a politician (Assemblyman Julius Volker, father of former State Sen. Dale Volker), among others. The squad was the first ambulance service to be operated by and within a police department in the state. Gould Coupler of Depew, forerunner of Dresser Industries, donated a used, late 1940s-model Mercury as the squad’s first ambulance.
The membership consisted of the 10 town police officers along with 14 auxiliary police. The ambulance volunteers answered an average of 300 requests for emergency first aid annually.
At that time, there was no real alarm system. A request for an ambulance would come through the police department. The police officer would park their police car and drive the ambulance. If more personnel was needed, phone calls were made to individual homes until a crew answered the call.
The original headquarters of the ambulance squad was at 21 Central Avenue at Clark Street. The ambulances would park outside during the nice weather, and would relocate to Sterm Street when the weather turned cold. Over the years, several changes were made to the Clark Street garage as more ambulances were added.
The 1970s brought some major changes to the ambulance squad. Women joined for the first time in 1973. In 1975, the organization’s name changed with incorporation, officially becoming the Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The first president was Bob Urban, and the first Director of Operations (akin to a fire department chief) was Jack Bromwich. Since its inception, the LVAC has served the Town and Village of Lancaster, as well as the Village of Depew.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in 1996 to mark the opening of LVAC's new headquarters.
On Aug. 10, 1996, LVAC opened its spacious new headquarters on Embry Place — a $900,000 facility with offices, bunk rooms, shower/locker rooms, a physical-fitness room, a conference room, a lounge area and a garage capable of housing the corps’ three ambulances and emergency-response vehicle.
Today, LVAC responds to more than 3,000 requests for help. We have a crew of volunteers second to none, comprised of EMTs, advanced EMTs and paramedics. Our members hail from all over Western New York. We have six paramedic-level ambulances.
