The Plattekill First Aid Unit was started as a part of the Plattekill Fire Department in 1964 when, after many months of discussion, usually at Sisti's General Store, an opportunity presented itself. Vassar Brothers Hospital had a used ambulance for sale. At the time, Local hospitals had been providing emergency ambulance services to Plattekill NY. As dedicated and vital as these services were, response time from Newburgh or Poughkeepsie was very slow. A decision was made by the area hospitals to drop their ambulance services by the end of 1964.

Our first ambulance, a 1957 Chevy, was purchased from Vassar Brothers Hospital in February of 1964 for $500.00. The "committee", George Sisti, Herbert Becker; John Klein, Lester Upright, Ken Birdsall, and Ralph Garcia, went to Vassar Brothers hospital and inspected the ambulance.  Realizing that they could not wait for the commissioners to act, these committee members chipped in to secure the purchase. The Plattekill Fire District commissioners thought it was a good idea in principle. Their concern was "Who would be trained to operate the ambulance and provide emergency care? The board of commissioners agreed to purchase and fund the operation of the ambulance when a trained unit could be assembled.

Service to the community officially began in June of 1964 after our members completed their first aid training under the guidance of Roy Pauli, a first aid instructor for the American Red Cross from Clintondale NY. Our first ambulance alarm was on June 25th, 1964, on Church Street for a "heart attack, a patient needing oxygen" and was transported to St.Luke's Hospital in Newburgh NY.

Phil Diamond from Shawangunk Valley Fire Company was an irreplaceable and extreme help to the Plattkill First Aid Unit in those formative months. Shawangunk Valley Fire Company already operated an ambulance as a part of their agency and knew the information and how to make this work. Mr. Diamond and the SVFC provided us with information and the loan of equipment necessary to operate until PFD could buy our own equipment as a part of the 1965 district budget. We kept that Chevy until 1971 when it was sold in 1971 for $400.00 plus $30.00 for additional tires. 

We purchased our second rig, a used 1963 Oldsmobile, for $709.90 in 1971. Our first new ambulance, a modular type, was purchased in 1973-4. Our small town of under 2000 residents swelled to over 5000 during the summer months as the resorts brought large numbers into the area.