September 11th: Five hours after the worst terrorist attack
in U.S. history, Virginia EMS Disaster Task Force Tidewater-12 was on the
road to support rescue and recovery efforts in Arlington or beyond.
The KVRS component of Tidewater-12 included an ambulance, Squad 9 (heavy
crash/rescue truck), Support 9, one shock-trauma tech, and seven
paramedics. Three of our responding members were sergeant-level
personnel, two were captains, and two were chiefs. Private ambulance
service Medical Transport Inc. provided a second ambulance and another
paramedic, and Plaza V.R.S.
provided an additional EMT. The task force's mission is to provide 72
hours worth of primary or fill-in EMS services to communities struck by
disaster. On this activation, Tidewater-12 reported initially to the
Richmond headquarters of the Virginia
Office of EMS, then received orders to post at the headquarters of Lifecare
Medical Transports, Inc. in Fredericksburg. By 9:00 p.m. that
night, the city of Arlington had determined that it had enough resources
already on hand to manage the attack at the Pentagon as well as their
standard call load. The task force coordination team then placed
Tidewater-12 on 12-hour standby status to expire at 11:59 p.m. September
16th.
1998
Squad 9 undergoes months-long refurbishment, to last another 10 years --
Kempsville's beloved heavy rescue/crash truck was already fourteen years old, and was in
need of a stem-to-stern overhaul. When it goes into service in July, it will have a
new lease on life, and an eager squad truck team to man it. We estimate that
refurbishment will save the squad over $100,000 over replacement.
KVRS' President also takes office as President of Rescue Council -- Paramedic
Kevin Lipscomb, the squad's president since November 1995, had already served as the Vice
President of Rescue Council for two years. The election held in January 1998
promoted him to President of Rescue Council, making Kevin the "President of
Presidents" amongst Virginia Beach's eleven distinct volunteer rescue squads.
At this point, KVRS members have risen to the top volunteer operations and
volunteer administrations posts in the city.
1997
KVRS is first rescue squad in Virginia Beach to establish a strong presence on the
World Wide Web -- The squad's arrival on the scene of the Information Superhighway was
more than just a cyber-accomplishment; it was a "volunteer rescue squad cultural
accomplishment" as well. The KVRS web site was conceived as a way not only to
toot our own horn, but also to replace "word of mouth" as the primary means of
year-to-year information pass-down in the squad. The web site serves simultaneously
as an introductory brochure, an annual report, a story-telling session, an archive, a
gathering spot, an indoctrination tool, and a recruitment tool. It's a record of the
hard and progressive work that makes the Kempsville Volunteer Rescue Squad so unique.
Plans include the pressing of a CD to store the site for eternity once its contents
reach "maturity".
Support Team receives commendations, contributions from police and fire agencies --
In its first year in service, the Support Team had made some very visible contributions to
extended police and fire incidents in Virginia Beach (and elsewhere). The Police Benefits
Association donated funds that essentially paid for all of the food and drink that the
team had dispensed in that year. The Virginia Beach Police Department presented the team
with its Meritorious Public Service Award, and the Virginia Beach Fire Department also
presented a commendation. Future funding for the team (including funding to rechassis
Support 9) has not yet been identified.
KVRS members win Unit Commendation -- The Virginia Beach Department of EMS and
the Virginia Beach Rescue Council decorated several KVRS members for their actions in
February of 1996, when they mitigated a "recreational disaster" brought on by an
uncommon snowstorm. When Mount Trashmore
was overrun by reckless sledders, the "Snow Squad", as it was dubbed, wasted no
time in establishing an incident command system and a first aid station. The group
processed 19 injured sledders, some with broken bones, and at least one with internal
injuries. Afterwards, the City of Virginia Beach initiated efforts to prepare Mount Trashmore
Park to support safe mountain sledding for future snowstorms.
Squad 9 is busiest crash truck in city -- Statistics published by the Virginia
Beach Dept of EMS show that Squad 9 (our crash truck) ran 265 calls in 1996, putting it
far ahead of Virginia Beach's other squad truck teams in this respect. The team achieved
the high response figure by responding to more than just entrapments during its duty
shifts. A long-standing KVRS policy allows Squad Truck Team participants to run fewer
ambulance or zone car duties. To preserve their proficiency, and to make up for the
reduction in ambulance/zone car manpower, KVRS Squad Truck Team crews also run
first-response and "ALS drop-off" calls within Station 9's first-due area.
Rescue Council adopts "e-mail repeater" launched by KVRS -- The
"e-mail repeater", or mailing list, was born out of a corporate partnership
between KVRS and ExisNet (an Internet Service Provider
for the Hampton Roads area), and allowed Virginia Beach's volunteer rescuers to achieve a
degree of parity with modern businesses and government agencies that were already
accustomed to the benefits and convenience of using e-mail in the workplace. Rescue
Council's adoption of the service brought closure to KVRS' original intention -- that the
initiative should benefit all of Virginia Beach's eleven rescue squads.
1996
KVRS promotes improvements in VBDEMS' Incident Command System and Mass Casualty
Incident programs -- By combining initiatives from two other agencies, KVRS developed
a rapid-deployment ICS tool that quickly proved its worth. The first (and oldest)
contributing initiative was the "Mass Casualty Incident Plan", a document full
of task-oriented checklists and flow sheets published by the Tidewater Emergency Medical Services
(TEMS) Council. The second contributing initiative was the procurement by the Virginia
Beach Department of EMS (VBDEMS) of reflective "sector" vests to be stored in
its zone cars. KVRS members, noticing that most rescuers were using the vests but
forsaking the MCI Plan, devised "sector kits" that could be combined to form a
comprehensive EMS-oriented ICS kit. The EMS ICS kit was first used by KVRS members at the
Priness Anne High School fire (the most serious fire in the city's history), where it made
for extremely smooth and effective medical and rehab operations. Also in 1996, KVRS
Captain Ed Brazle secured advance specifications for the state's upcoming MCI standards,
and taught VBDEMS' first formal MCI classes. MCI Level 1 certification is now considered
basic training for all Virginia Beach EMS providers; MCI Level 2 is basic training for all
Squad Truck Teams; MCI Level 3 is basic for all EMS Chiefs.
1995
KVRS begins grass-roots effort to bring a Personnel Accountability System to the
Virginia Beach Department of EMS -- Each July 4th, KVRS handles illnesses and injuries
generated at Mount
Trashmore fireworks shows, which draw about 40,000 spectators. As a result of lessons
learned during these events, Captain Kevin Lipscomb enlisted the help of his mother to
craft nylon-and-velcro "passport" devices, based on Virginia Beach Fire
Department SOPs and existing Rescue ID cards, to assist in tracking KVRS unit assignments.
VBDEMS did not perceive a need for such a system until after a HazMat incident occurred at
an oceanfront hotel. With the need, the interest, and the VBFD specifications established,
a full-fledged PAS system was finally achieved for the entire Department of EMS in early
1997.
1994
Paramedic John Fusco ends 3-year command of KVRS, gets tapped to command Brigade 2 --
Bruce Edwards (the Director of the Virginia Beach Dept of EMS) promoted Fusco by
appointing him to the volunteer position of Chief of the 2nd Brigade. Brigade 2 oversees
the operations of the Chesapeake Beach, Davis Corner, Kempsville, and Ocean Park
Volunteer Rescue Squads. Fusco's term as Squad Commander tied that of EMT Betty Eisele (in
the early 80's) for the distinction of longest continuous service in that office. Fusco
had been instrumental in guiding KVRS through a "Virtuous Circle of Effects"
(see Recommended Reading).
