Rescue squad stymied
State suspends Culpeper County group's license to operate; details unknown.
By DONNIE JOHNSTON
Date published: 1/4/2007
The state of Virginia yesterday suspended the Culpeper County Rescue Squad's license to operate.
The Office of Emergency Medical Services shut down Company 11, as it is known, at 4 p.m.
"That means that their members or ambulances can't run calls," said Culpeper County Emergency Services Director Tom Williams.
Williams said that he did not know the specifics of why the state issued the suspension and members of Company 11 said that they could not go into details without permission from their lawyer.
"It was because we're not answering 100 percent of our calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Company 11 President Tricia Trenary. "There were line items, but that was basically it."
Although Trenary said the closure, which she called temporary, came as a shock, Williams said he heard about the possibility of a suspension at a Culpeper County Fire and Rescue Association meeting in early December.
He said that Company 11 Capt. Matt Halsey had asked the association for its support on that occasion, saying that the squad could be hit with a suspension.
Williams added that his office received a letter from the state on Dec. 18 that also warned of a possible suspension.
Members who were present at the Company 11 building last night said that they did not know of the suspension until 4:15 yesterday afternoon.
Company 11 had gone through several years of internal turmoil beginning in 1999, and those problems resulted in a large volunteer personnel turnover.
Those problems had been key in prompting the county to begin a professional EMS service that now operates 24 hours a day.
Williams said that the county professional EMS technicians would continue to respond to calls even though they had been barred from using Company 11's station as of last night.
Trenary said that it was unclear whether or not the professional EMS technicians could operate out of Company 11's building under the suspension order. She said they would not be allowed to use the facilities until there was a legal clarification.
Williams said his professional crews will be headquartered at the Emergency Operations Center for the immediate future.
He added that he will request that another county rescue company provide a second ambulance for E-911 calls. The county has two crews but only one ambulance.
Williams said that Company 11 has 10 days in which to appeal the suspension and then correct whatever problems the state has found.
"It's a matter of compliance," Williams said.
To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com
Date published: 1/4/2007
Most recent reader comments:
Wow so the way the article sounds, is that paid ambulance workers, dont have a place to stay b/c the volunteers were not pulling their weight?? Well why doesnt the county I pay taxes in, declare some type of order and take over that organization 100% and let the paid service do their jobs instead of making them miserable..
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