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Reprinted from the Free Lance Star. Date published: 11/27/2007
Spotsy's emergency workers best in state WINNERS
Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company and volunteer Eric Lasky are best in the state
Date published: 11/27/2007
By DAN TELVOCK
For the volunteers at Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, the camaraderie is what keeps this group strong.
"Many of my friends are here," said Eric Lasky, a volunteer captain.
Helping people is what keeps them interested.
"We feed them well, too," said Beth Addington, president of Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue and a CPR teacher at MediCorp.
The 301 members of the volunteer agency just earned an additional boost for their community service.
Earlier this month in Norfolk, Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue was recognized as the best emergency medical services agency in the state. They competed against 722 other companies.
Lasky, whose full-time job is a recovery specialist for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, won the top EMS provider award.
The awards are the highest in the state for volunteer fire and rescue agencies. Spotsylvania supervisors plan to commend the volunteers at tonight's meeting.
Kevin Dillard, Chancellor's administrative chief, said the awards are a tribute to the volunteers.
"They give up their time very unselfishly," said Dillard, who runs LifeCare Medical Transports, a private ambulance company. "We are very proud of the volunteers we have."
Lasky was commended for his 13 years of EMS service in the state. He spent 10 years with the Navy, trained as an emergency medical technician. From October 2004 to March 2005 he was a medical operations coordinator for the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee.
He also was a medical planner for the 55th Presidential Inauguration, where he worked with federal and state agencies to coordinate medical care for the 500,000 visitors. He won a Joint Forces Commendation Medal for that work.
"What's always carried many of us through this is the want to help as many people as possible," Lasky said. "It's adrenalin. It's excitement."
The Chancellor volunteers organized fire service more than 50 years ago. Medical services started in 2003. The Chancellor volunteers operate four rescue stations and three fire stations. A new joint fire-rescue station at Salem Fields is expected to open early next year.
Dan Butler, Chancellor's rescue chief, has been volunteering in Spotsylvania for 12 years.
"It is very self-rewarding to be able to help someone," he said.
Together, they work with a combined force of career medics and firefighters, Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Company and the Spotsylvania Volunteer Rescue Squad. Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Company and the Rescue Squad will open a new station Saturday to serve the Four-Mile Fork area.
Supervisor T.C. Waddy thanked the Chancellor volunteers for helping improve service in the rural Belmont area of the Livingston District.
"They came in and filled in and have done an outstanding job," Waddy said. "The people at Belmont really appreciate what they've done."
Supervisor Hap Connors, whose wife, Sue, is a Chancellor volunteer, said the approximately 600 volunteers countywide save taxpayers several million dollars every year in personnel and equipment.
"I think we've got an excellent combination system," he said. "I think Kevin Dillard has been a great leader and I think their ranks are filled with dedicated people who have a passion for these services."
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
Email: dtelvock@freelancestar.com
THE COMPETITION There are 33,961 emergency medical service providers in Virginia and Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue's Eric Lasky was chosen as the best. There are 723 emergency medical service agencies in Virginia and Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue was chosen as the best. JOIN THE TEAM Spotsylvania County is served by a combination fire and rescue system of volunteers and paid EMS and firefighters. Volunteers cover the evening shifts while the career medics and firefighters are home from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday. Volunteers work Saturday and Sunday shifts. These are the three volunteer agencies that serve the county:
For Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue, call 540/548-HERO; cvfr.net
For Spotsylvania Volunteer Rescue Squad, call 540/ 582-2153; spotsyrescue.org
For Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Department, call 540/582-5322; spotsylvaniavfd.net
spotsyvolfirerescue.org