| Lerone Graham

lerone.graham@roanoke.com, 381-8621

The Christiansburg agency whose sole purpose is to save lives in emergency situations is in dire need of members.

"We could use about 50 [volunteers], but we can't get anywhere close to that," said Capt. Kelly Walters of the volunteer Christiansburg Rescue Squad.

He couldn't give an exact number of the squad's current volunteers but said it hovers somewhere in the 20s.

Because of a mutual-aid agreement, rescue squads in neighboring localities fill in whenever the town's squad is too understaffed to answer a call.

An ideal response time in town is five minutes, Walters said. When squads from other jurisdictions have to respond to Christiansburg calls it can take longer, he said.

Blacksburg Rescue Squad picks up a few Christiansburg calls a week, said rescue Chief Sid Bingley. The Blacksburg Rescue Squad also generally has an easier time recruiting volunteers because of Virginia Tech students getting involved, he said.

"We get a little stretched in the summertime, but we're fairly well-staffed at this point," Bingley said.

Christiansburg is usually the most shorthanded between 6 to 9 a.m., Walters said.

"Nobody wants to get up that early," he said.

Christiansburg police Chief Mark Sisson said he spoke with Walters about the situation Wednesday and the two agreed that more volunteers are needed, especially during the daytime.

"Many of the volunteers have normal jobs and cannot respond on rescue calls during the day," Sisson said.

Though Walters is adamant about recruiting new members, he cautioned that becoming a volunteer takes a serious commitment.

Volunteers are on call for 12-hour shifts and can be whisked away from personal time to answer calls, Walters said. He advises anyone interested in joining to have the support of their spouse and children first, because they will have to understand what types of sacrifices will be made. Walters said he tries to make people aware of this before they turn in an application.

"Well, you can't really tell people they need to do it. They've got to make up their mind," he said.

"If you go out and try to pressure somebody and they don't really want to do it, most of the time they don't stay long."

Though there's a large commitment, volunteers do reap benefits of their hard work, Walters said. The education, training and equipment is paid for by the rescue squad. Many use the knowledge they gain to pursue careers as nurses, doctors, firefighters and in other relevant fields.

Bingley echoed Walters' thoughts, and said the feeling of helping the sick and injured and saving lives is a great sacrifice to make for one's town.

"It's a learning experience and you get a good chance to serve the community," Bingley said.

"It's a great way to give back."