Dozens of ambulances and emergency medical workers have come to New Jersey to help support local EMTs.

Six EMTs with Indiana-based Heartland Ambulance Service have come to Hoboken to lend a hand.

In a normal month, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corp. would make about 400-500 calls. But last month the service responded to 800.

“Even with the pandemic and all the COVID jobs, regular EMS still happens,” says Tommy Molta. “At one point, we had four to five ambulances in service and it wasn’t enough.”

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Molta says that he is grateful for the help. The Heartland Ambulance Service has been deployed with two of their trucks, as part of a nationwide FEMA program. Dozens of other ambulances and EMTs have been dispatched elsewhere in New Jersey.

The six EMTs drove down from Indiana. They are all from different towns around the state. They say that it took about 12 hours. They will be in Hoboken for at least another week.

The Hoboken crew says that the six immediately became like family. And that they appreciate the volunteers for putting themselves in harm’s way in New Jersey.

Seventy-five ambulances came to New Jersey in a first round of volunteers. Another 100 arrived earlier this week.