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Background
This group was formed in October 2004 out of a genuine concern for our community. Of the nine Fire and Rescue stations in Spotsylvania County, only three were manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24/7). The remaining six stations were unmanned 60% of the week. Although our interest began with Station # 7, we soon learned that this is a county-wide dilemma, and requires a county-wide solution.
With so many new families moving to our county each year, it has become necessary to increase coverage at every station to 24/7. As documented below, without 24/7 coverage, some residents have already experienced, first hand, the effect of a long wait.
From Sheryl Bennett, resident of Spotsylvania County:
On August 1, 2003, at 2 a.m., Saturday morning, my husband and I were awakened by our neighbor’s frantic knocking on our back
door. His plea – “Call 911; my house is on fire!” We could plainly see the flames, feel the heat and hear the crackle. We made that 911 call. Because our nearest fire station (less than three miles to our neighbor’s door) was not manned, we waited for a long agonizing 18 minutes before the first piece of fire fighting equipment arrived. The tragic result was our neighbor’s home burned to the ground as you can see in this picture.
The previous year, my husband, a heart patient, needed to be transported to the hospital. This time it was 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, and we waited over 15 minutes for a response. Station # 5 answered the call, not Station # 7, the station nearest to our home. I asked why #7 hadn’t answered the call. I was told that station #7 was not manned after 2:30 p.m.
Thankfully, the hours have been increased and all stations are now manned from 4:40 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday by paid staff. Currently, some stations are manned overnight by volunteers from Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Department and Spotsylvania Rescue Squad. Please see Coverage Chart on our FYI page .
The Facts
About 335,000 people a year die of coronary heart disease without being hospitalized or admitted to an emergency room. That's about half of all deaths from coronary heart disease — more than 930 Americans each day. Most of these are sudden deaths caused by cardiac arrest.
Brain death and permanent death start to occur in just four to six minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is reversible in most victims if it's treated within a few minutes with an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. This process is called defibrillation. A victim's chances of survival are reduced by 7 to 10 percent with every minute that passes without defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation succeed after 10 minutes. If someone becomes unconscious, call 9-1-1 immediately. They may be suffering from sudden cardiac arrest.
Source: American Heart Association. For more, visit: http://www.americanheart.org
