Commentary: Charlotte Rescue - A Window Into Community Service
By David McNally, volunteer EMT,
January 26, 2012, page 3.....

Have you ever wondered what goes on at the Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service (CVFRS)? I sure did – that’s why I volunteered to work with the rescue squad last March. Let me back up a bit. My family and I moved to Charlotte in the summer of 2010, having lived almost ten years overseas. In seeking out ways to connect with the community, I opted to check out the CVFRS. To my surprise, it has been an experience that has far exceeded my initial expectations.
The rescue squad is half of the non-profit CVFRS. It is Charlotte’s link to Chittenden County’s emergency medical services. Though not every day, Rescue actually does save lives. If you volunteer with the squad you have the opportunity to participate in a variety of trainings, and you can even earn your EMT certification. Through this training, I learned how Emergency Medical Services (EMS) works – which was pretty educational to me.
So first, there’s an emergency – which is defined by the person(s) experiencing it – and someone dials 9-1-1. This call goes into the Vermont Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) system, and a dispatcher (usually in Shelburne) then mobilizes the appropriate emergency response resources (police, fire, ambulance, etc., from one or more towns) to handle the call. Charlotte Rescue’s mission is to be “in service” 24/7, 365 days a year to respond to a call. We are mandated by Vermont state law to have a crew consisting of a certified ambulance driver and two certified EMTs on each shift. In Charlotte we run 12-hour shifts (7 to 7), and staff respond either from the station or from home if they are within three minutes from the station.
When we get dispatched, we hear a clear, loud tone, both inside the station and over all the handheld radios we carry, that is unique to the Charlotte station. In fact, each station in Vermont has its own unique tone so that your ears get trained to hear calls affecting your community. After the tone sounds to get your attention, the Shelburne dispatch will rattle off the emergency, information about the person(s) involved and the address. Then we’re off as safely and as quickly as we can to the “scene” of the emergency. We try to arrive on scene within ten minutes of being “tone-d out.” Once there we size up the scene for safety, assess the patient, and decide to stay and treat or “load and go” if the conditions are urgent.
From the scene Charlotte Rescue transports patients either to Fletcher Allen Hospital (Burlington) or Porter Hospital (Middlebury). We decide where to go depending on which hospital is closer or if the emergency requires a Level 1 Trauma Center (Fletcher Allen). Our priority service area is Charlotte, but we also support other towns (and they also cover us). Should they be occupied with another call, we would respond as part of various mutual aid agreements we have between towns. Shelburne, Ferrisburgh, Vergennes and Panton, are some of our more often visited neighbors, but we also go as far as Richmond and Huntington when needed.
Over the past year, Charlotte has been a pioneer in implementing the Vermont Deparment of Health’s policy to raise the standard of EMS care to the paramedic level. EMTs come in three types: EMT-Basic (three months training), EMT-Intermediate (three months training), and EMT-Paramedic (18 months training). We are fortunate in Charlotte to have two resident paramedics, Bob Stone and David Stewart. Having paramedics greatly improves the quality of pre-hospital care we can provide – from more medication options and better interventions to a higher-level analysis of what is going on with patients. Paramedics have been called to intercept emergencies in other towns, and we have been successful in doing this while simultaneously keeping a full crew in service in Charlotte. It’s a big step forward. Every patient we transport is billed, and this revenue is funneled directly back to the Town of Charlotte’s coffers.
Being “in service” requires having a functional ambulance ready to go at any moment. Unfortunately, last year we suffered from several breakdowns of our sole ambulance. When the ambulance was in repair, we were without another rig and thus “out of service.” Some of our neighboring towns graciously provided their backup ambulances for our use – but that assistance had its limit. So, last fall we opted to rent a backup ambulance, and this past December we purchased a used ambulance from South Burlington to serve as a replacement for this rental. Currently, we have two ambulances (used but adequate) to cover our needs. We are hoping these will fill the gap until we are able to purchase a new ambulance on schedule in 2013.
Charlotte Rescue is an eclectic mix of men and women working at a professional level. The Vermont EMS system, the resources the Town of Charlotte allocate and the dedication of our volunteers and paid staff all come together to be there for the people of Charlotte and neighboring towns in times of crisis. Please feel free to stop by, ask questions, and consider joining! It’s been the right choice for me. To learn more and meet some of the Fire and Rescue staff, please consider coming out to the Fire and Ice Ball February 3 at the Old Lantern.

- David McNally, volunteer EMT