Organized first aid came to Allendale in July 1937, when a 1926 REO ambulance was offered to Dr. Fred Kanning by the Hackensack Hospital for $1. With its first rig, the Allendale Ambulance Corps (AAC) was formed on July 8, 1937, when 13 Allendale residents volunteered for duty. Dr. Kanning was appointed surgeon to the AAC, and Paul D. O’Connor was appointed the first captain of the now 18-member squad. In 1939, at a cost of $3,500 for the ambulance and $750 for appliances, a new, fully equipped ambulance was bought with the help and advice of Dr. Harry Archer of the New York City Fire Department. The ambulance was stored in the borough garage. Located alongside the firehouse at Erie Plaza, the first ambulance headquarters was dedicated on October 20, 1940, with a later addition, completed in 1959, providing a meeting room and storage space. Originally dedicated on June 13, 1981, the new Allendale Ambulance Corps building on Franklin Turnpike near Arcadia Road was rededicated on June 13, 2008, as the John L. Alsdorf Ambulance Building in recognition of Alsdorf’s 50 years of service with the corps.
Images of America: Allendale