7,000 emergency calls later …

The making of Malverne emergency responder, Bill Malone

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On October 12, 2015, Malverne resident Bill Malone did something no one in the village had ever accomplished: he went on his 7,000th emergency call as a member of the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Malone, 58, who says he is driven by a sense of duty and a desire to make the world a better place, just started his 40th year volunteering for the corps, which he joined in 1976 when the corps was only eight years old.

At a recent village board meeting, MVAC president Perry Cuocci announced Malone, a state certifiied EMT-CC since 1978, had logged over 1,000 hours of assigned duty tours a record 14 times in a calendar year. He has held every position — some multiple times — within the MVAC, including president and chairman of the board.

A brief look back at the events leading to Malone’s membership in the MVAC, and the influential mentors who found their way into corps and Malone’s life, shows the evolution of one of the village’s most extraordinary volunteers.

“I was a sophomore year at St. John’s University when a good friend said we needed to do community service, and suggested Malverne’s ambulance corps,” Malone said. “‘That sounds interesting,’ I said, and I filled out an application, and he never did.” As a teenager, Malone was also intrigued by the 1970s television series, “Emergency,” which further spurred his interest in the MVAC.

A North Lynbrook resident when he joined the corps, Malone said his neighbor, member Vic O’Toole, was his first mentor. “We signed on for duty on Tuesday nights, and he would make a habit of driving down the street to pick me up and we’d go off on a call together,” Malone said. “He made the mistake of saying, ‘You know just as much as the other people in the corps, Bill. Don’t let them push you around.’ So if you want to blame someone (for my brusque nature) blame him,” Malone said.

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