This spring, Granville Volunteer Fire Department announced plans to create a volunteer transport ambulance service to provide a second local emergency transport option when White River Valley Ambulance (WRVA) was not available, or a patient would be better served by initiating transport sooner than WRVA could arrive. This service is an extension of the emergency medical first response service started by the Granville Fire Department in 2010.
“These instances are not frequent, but do happen. The next available ambulance services are Mad River Valley Ambulance Service in Waitsfield, Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Service, or South Royalton Ambulance. Response time by any of the other ambulance services can be 45-minutes or more depending on the location of the incident, weather, and the availability of the other services,” said Dan Sargeant, fire chief and EMS chief of the newly re-formed Valley Rescue Squad.
Folks may be interested in knowing why the name of the emergency medical service is being changed to Valley Rescue Squad, which will continue to operate under the umbrella of the Granville Volunteer Fire Department. Granville Volunteer Fire Department primarily provides fire and rescue services to Granville, while Valley Rescue Squad provides emergency medical first response service to Granville, Hancock, and Rochester.
Valley Rescue Squad was the name of the previous ambulance service that served the valley between 1971 and 2013 until it was closed.
“The valley lost an incredible local asset in 2013, which the community is still reeling from 10 years later. Granville Fire Response filled that gap by responding to emergency medical incidents and stabilizing the situation until White River Valley Ambulance arrived from Bethel,” Sargeant said.
The service area is about 147 square miles, consisting of about 1,700 residents. End to end, it covers 20 miles of Vermont Route 100. Valley Rescue Squad will continue to work closely with the White River Valley Ambulance which will remain the primary ambulance service for the towns. For the new squad to provide this service to the community an active roster of 28 volunteers is needed. The current roster stands at 20 and Sargeant said recruitment is underway to bring on eight more people.
Three new volunteers have recently joined and others have expressed interest, he said. Fundraising efforts have also been successful this year. Most recent donation receipts will be used to purchase a cardiac monitor for use at emergency scenes. Three personnel are also currently enrolled in an Emergency Medical Technician class hosted by Mad River Valley Ambulance. Their expected certification is in April 2024. Other personnel will be attending Vermont Emergency First Responder classes this fall.
“The original timeline for Valley Rescue Squad to begin emergency transport was 2026. Pending licensure from the Vermont EMS office, service could realistically begin much sooner. The one factor that will drive this timeline is recruitment of volunteers,” Sargeant said.
Additional volunteers are needed, especially in Rochester.
For more information about the Valley Rescue Squad effort contact Sargeant at
