Photo by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Bedford County volunteers John and Micki Singer estimate they run approximately 90 percent of Moneta's rescue calls, sometimes spending as many as 10 hours in the ambulance if they get back-to-back calls.

John and Micki Singer moved from California to Smith Mountain Lake to retire 12 years ago.

A neighbor prodded John, a former geologist, to volunteer with the lake's marine fire department. After completing emergency medical technician training, John decided his services would better serve the Moneta Rescue Squad.

Eight years later, both Singers are trained EMTs answering hundreds of calls in Moneta each year.

"We are available 24 hours a day," John Singer said.

Until July 1, the 10 fire departments and 11 rescue squads in Bedford County relied solely on volunteers. In July, eight EMT/firefighters were hired to staff four ambulances Monday through Friday. The two-member teams are stationed in Forest, Moneta, Montvale and Stewartsville.

The implementation of paid staff was a response to fewer volunteers answering more calls, said County Administrator Kathleen Guzi.

"Our first priority always is to recruit and retain volunteers," she said. "They are the foundation of the system."

Rescue calls increased by approximately 17 percent across Bedford County between 2005 and 2006, an effect of a growing population.

In Moneta, north of Hales Ford Bridge, more than 2,500 single-family homes, condominiums, town houses and apartments are planned for a handful of developments. The availability of public utilities is attracting commercial development and more densely populated residential projects. Based on the county's average of 2.5 persons per household, that means an influx of approximately 6,250 residents.

Janet Blankenship, the county's fire and rescue services recruitment and retention specialist, was hired last year to help bolster the county's dwindling volunteer pool.

"As the lake area grows, the need for volunteers in that area is going to grow," she said.

The county offers the EMT course, which takes approximately 110 hours to complete, to volunteers tuition-free. In addition to training, fire and rescue volunteers sacrifice a large amount of time to serve.

"A quick call is basic transport to Bedford Memorial Hospital," John Singer said. "You can never get it done in less than two hours."

If a patient needs to be transported to Roanoke, the call time could double. There have been instances in which the Singers have answered back-to-back calls, spending as much as 10 hours in the ambulance.

John Singer estimates he and his wife run approximately 90 percent of Moneta's rescue calls.

"What is going to happen when they [the Singers] can't run anymore?" asked Blankenship. "If it weren't for them, that system would greatly hurt."

Since coming on board in January 2006, Blankenship developed an online application to simplify the application process for volunteers. She handles the administrative tasks associated with the applications, including performing background checks.

This year, Blankenship initiated a recruitment challenge.

"The volunteer who recruits and retains the most people ... gets a trip to New York to visit Ground Zero," she said.

The county also developed a two-year EMT program for juniors and seniors at the Bedford Science & Technology Center. After the students complete the program, Blankenship works to place them in a rescue squad as volunteers. She expects 20 students to participate in the EMT program in the upcoming school year.

"Volunteers are a big role," she said. "We cannot survive on career staffing alone."

Bedford County instituted an ambulance billing program July 1. Patients sign waivers authorizing the county to bill health insurance companies for emergency transportation.

A previous contract with Roanoke-based Carilion Patient Transportation Services for three staffed ambulances was not renewed at the end of the fiscal year.

Supervisors Steve Arrington, who represents the Big Island District, and Roger Cheek, who represents the Huddleston District, voted against providing more than $430,000 to fund the eight EMT/firefighter positions.

"As we head toward more paid staff, I believe that the Carilion contract was the best thing we had going for us," said Arrington. "I do not believe we can do it cheaper."

While he said he is not against fire and rescue services, Arrington is opposed to creating more government positions for the county to fund.

"Savings now might not necessarily be savings down the road," he said.

For the fiscal year 2007-08, the county is expected to save approximately $150,000 by dropping the Carilion contract while providing an additional ambulance and its two-person crew.

"I don't think anybody is naive enough to think eight paid employees or four ambulances is the end," John Singer said.

More than 66,000 residents are spread across the county's 755 square miles. Bedford County has been the fastest-growing locality in the western half of the state since 2000.

On the Net: www.co.bedford.va.us/Res/FireRescue/