Bedford Co. volunteer rescue system is strained to limit, supervisors told

Each of the 300 calls per year that Moneta Rescue Squad Capt. John Singer answers takes an average of about three hours to field.

Over his 15 years with the Bedford County squad, that adds up to more than 13,000 volunteer hours and does not include training, meetings, maintenance and other upkeep.

“And I’m proud of that,” Singer told the Bedford County Board of Supervisors this week.

But the volunteer system is stretched too thin and is reaching a breaking point, Singer said. The county has to step up support or some squads may have to close up shop five years from now, he informed supervisors at a meeting Monday.

There are more than 180 certified volunteer emergency technicians, he said, but the Moneta squad has only a handful of workers who take the lion’s share of calls. That often leads to longer response times.

“I don’t have the people to do it,” he told supervisors. “We are below critical mass [of volunteers].”

The county has some paid staff but relies largely on a volunteer system to handle calls, including emergency medical issues. Singer told supervisors he does not have time to perform even simple tasks such as cleaning trucks because he runs so many calls.

If several faithful workers suddenly stopped answering calls in places like Moneta and Huddleston, Singer said he does not know how the model of a volunteer system could survive in those areas.

“We need help from the county,” Singer said. “I don’t think we can do it with what we have right now … we’ve got to do something.”

Boonsboro Rescue Squad Captain June Leffke asked supervisors to give thought to a new training facility to help volunteers.

A current training facility off Falling Creek Road in Bedford, where the fire and rescue department is located, has long outlived its purpose since it was erected in January 2003 as temporary quarters, she said.

Air conditioning and heating are unpredictable and the floors where much training takes place has carpet issues that are unsuitable, she said. The county needs better equipment, more adequate storage space and room to handle the training curriculum that consists largely of groups engaging in hands-on tasks.

“In this current facility, it is impossible to do this effectively in one room,” she said of ongoing training. “The noise level alone is chaotic.”

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