|
Volunteer The West End Volunteer Rescue Squad began February 18, 1960. Donald Davies, Reginald Ray McLawhorne and Edward Donald Lewis formed the squad. In those days it was headquartered in the Texaco gas station located at 3501 West Cary Street. Mr. McLawhorne was the station operator. There were 24 original members and one 1955 Cadillac ambulance. Some members "pulled" duty every other night. Early problems centered on training and fund raising, two problems that still exist today. The Squad still exists on donations, however training has become much more intense, time consuming and expensive. In the early days squad members sometimes filled the gas tank and bought supplies with money from their own pockets. In 1960 all that was required to be on the ambulance was a Red Cross first aid certification. The first Emergency Medical Technicians were 6 years away and the first paramedics were still 9 years away. Eventually a second ambulance was purchased through a loan secured by individual members. This new ambulance was the first one to be equipped with a two-way radio, allowing the ambulance to communicate with West End Rescue Squad headquarters while on the road. In 1961 the squad relocated to a 27-foot house trailer that was purchased for $500.00. This trailer was located on the vacant lot behind the Texaco station at 4150 West Broad Street. In 1968 the squad purchased the land at 1802 Chantilly Street. West End Volunteer Rescue Squad is still located there. The first duty crew to run a call from the new building did so November 23rd, 1965. The first Advanced Life Support Ambulance was created in 1975. From 1979 to 1983 West End Rescue Squad staffed and maintained the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the Medical College of Virginia. This unit traveled all over the Commonwealth of Virginia, staffed by West End members. In October of 1983, West End became the first Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dispatched to a 911 call in the new Richmond EMS system. Currently, West End Volunteer Rescue Squad is one of two volunteer agencies still operating under the Richmond Ambulance Authority EMS system. Units are dispatched through the medical 911 system to calls throughout the city, although the first due area is still Richmond's West End area, anything west of the Boulevard and North of the James River to the city line. West End responds into Henrico County on mutual aid calls and all over the city in support of Richmond's Ambulance Authority. Current members include EMT-Basics, Cardiac Technicians, EMT-Intermediates and Paramedics. We operate three ALS ambulances, two QRV's, and one crash-rescue-MCI truck. The crash-rescue-MCI truck is the only unit in Richmond city that stocks supplies for mass casualty incidents capable of treating up to 100 adults and pediatric patients. An Auxiliary Unit supports the members that run calls by fund raising activities and providing cooked meals for the duty crews and during special events, such as business meetings and during holidays, when crews spend times away from their families, serving their extended Richmond community family. If you have a desire to help - to run emergency calls, to help maintain the building, to answer phones - whatever you can and want to do, please contact us! There are several different types of membership.
There are several different types of membership, please read them over carefully to decide which one is the best for you.
Once your application
has been submitted and reviewed for membership you will be contacted
by your preferred method and a background check will be initiated.
Once this has been completed you will be scheduled for orientation
and ride-a-longs. New members are probationary for six months. Click here to complete the membership application online. |
