The squad has provided 55 years of service to the residence of Tabernacle Township. It all began in 1952 when members of the Medford Farms Fire Co and other citizens of Tabernacle Township decided to start a new organization the Medford Farms Emergency Squad. In 1953 the squad began with a used 1939 LaSalle ambulance that was housed in the little firehouse with the fire trucks on Hawkins Road. After the first year, the squad decided to buy a second ambulance a 1940 Ford ambulance from the Browns Mills Emergency Squad. After a few years, quarters were cramped and it was decided to build a squad building across the street from the firehouse. The two-bay dirt-floored squad building was finished in 1957 and is the current location of that building today.
During the 1960’s the squad continued serving, buying several used ambulances to replace the older ambulances. The ambulances of the day were Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Pontiacs. Members were alerted using a telephone party line and the firehouse siren.
During the 1970s the squad saw a large amount of growth. A concrete floor was poured. A kitchen, storage room, bathrooms, and boiler room were also added to make the building a little more civilized. The squad began to run bingo as a fundraiser. A six-foot addition was added to the building for the tables and bingo equipment. In 1974, the township Committee purchased a Dodge Van Ambulance for the squad. This was the first vehicle purchased by the township for the squad, and also the first new vehicle ever used by the squad. The squad continued purchasing used ambulances including a Suburban from America Squad and a Cadillac. The squad recognizing the need for an off-road vehicle acquired a 1953 Military Dodge ambulance from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. The members put in countless hours building the truck. The squad needing more space added the final addition to the station including two bays and storage for the bingo tables. In 1978 the squad purchased a used 1974 Ford Horton ambulance from Pennsauken. The squad also added a set of state of the art Porto-a-Power for vehicle extrication. The end of the 70’s saw the beginning of a thing called Central Communications, and the telephone party line gave way to pagers and CB radios The CB radios were purchased for the squad by member Donald Spaeth
The 1980s was the hay day of the Squad. The Squad, which was covering two townships, Tabernacle and Shamong Townships, was running nearly a 1000 calls a year. In 1980 and 1981 the Squad moved up from buying used ambulances and purchased two demonstrator ambulances, a Starline van, and a PL Custom modular ambulance. 1983 saw the purchase of the First set of the Jaws of Life. In 1984 the Squad purchased their first new ambulance a Ford type III Horton ambulance. The ambulance became the first rescue truck for the squad with hydraulic tools. During the 1980s the Squad purchased several ambulances and other high tech equipment including a Life PAK 5. The squad was the only Squad in the area that owned a Life Pak 5 and it was loaned to the Memorial Hospital paramedics several times when their only unit broke. The Military Dodge was replaced with a 1986 Ford Bronco designed by then Captain George Jackson Jr. The Squad in 1988 decided to changes its name to the TABERNACLE RESCUE SQUAD. The name change was for a few reasons. First, the Squad wanted to use the name of the township that it served. Rescue Squad came from a nickname given to the squad by the Troopers at Red Lion; they referred to the Squad as “The Rescue Squad.” The last reason was the difficulty in getting patient information from the hospital because the squad was confused with Medford or Lakes Emergency Squad in Medford.
The 1990s saw a group of members break off from the Squad and form Shamong EMS. Call volume dropped but the Squad stayed busy. In 1991 The Squad bought a Demo Ambulance that was new to the area. It was a Medium Duty Chassis ambulance that replaced the smaller rescue. This was the first type of this ambulance in the area and Burlington County. It would serve as the Rescue truck until 2006. In 1990 a used chief car was purchased and in 1992 it was replaced by a new chief car a Ford Crown Vic. In 1997 the Squad remounted the 1984 Horton because of its great condition. It was a great savings to the Squad when money was tight. In 1999 the Squad purchased another ambulance. The ambulance was a new ambulance that been wrecked. The Squad purchased the box part of the ambulance had it completely refurbished and saved about $35,000 dollars in the process.