New York – Orange County Chooses Its First Chasidic Paramedic As Responder Of The Year

June 25, 2019 12:10 pm

Orange County, NY – A Kiryas Joel paramedic was honored last night as ALS provider of the year by Orange County Department of Emergency Services, the first time a Chasidic individual has ever been selected to receive that award.

KJ Hatzolah paramedic supervisor Avrohom Yitzchok Flohr, was hailed for responding to 350 mutual aid calls, responding to calls from local ambulance companies located outside the village. The decision to honor Flohr as the Advance Life Support provider of the year was made by the Orange County Emergency Medical Services council, said Frank Cassanite, deputy commissioner of Orange County EMS.

“He is an excellent medic who does a great job for Orange County,” Cassanite told VIN News. “Their agency provides mutual aid services and he is one of the first persons to get on the radio.”

The award was presented to Flohr at a ceremony held Monday night at the Orange County Emergency Services Center in Goshen. While Flohr is the first Chasidic paramedic to be named ALS provider of the year in Orange County, Kiryas Joel Emergency Medical Service was named EMS Agency of the year in 2015 as previously reported on VIN News (http://bit.ly/2X27LXF).

KJ Hatzolah administrator and CEO Sruly Knobloch said that his agency most often provides mutual aid for Monroe Volunteer Ambulance, Woodbury Community Ambulance and Orange County EMS. He praised Flohr, who has been with Hatzolah for approximately 20 years, as someone who always goes above and beyond the call of duty.

“He is very dedicated,” said Knobloch. “He can run out in the middle of the night at 3 AM, go back to bed, and if another call comes in at 5 Am he will go out and do the same thing again.”

Flohr acknowledged that it took a number of years for the Yiddish-speaking, tzitzis-clad members of KJ Hatzolah to be accepted as a valuable county resource.

“It took time but once they realized how professional we are, EMS crews, law enforcement and police heave a sigh a relief when they see us coming,” said Flohr, who is also a member of Williamsburg Hatzolah. “But we are not a one man band and while one person receives the award, it is not only one person that is honored. It is a team effort. We work together, every single day, each morning and each night and we go all out.”