Fast Facts About The Squad

Here are a few tidbits of information about our department!

• Date Established: Our first meeting was May 19, 1954. We received our charter on June 7, 1954. Our first day in service was October 2, 1954.
• Call Volume: We answered 146 calls for service in our first 12 months. In calendar year 2008, we answered 1,446 calls for service.
• Number of stations: 3. Our first station was built as an addition to the old Bensley fire house at 5803 Wentworth Street. Today, we operate out of three stations with nearly two dozen beds and ten ambulance bays.
• Number of members: 118. We started with 38 charter members in 1954 (12 were women), and have grown steadily since then.
• Number of ALS providers: 12. Currently we have three more ALS providers in school!
• Number of hours: Our members donate a massive amount of unpaid time to the community, whether it be on an ambulance or administrative.
• Number of ambulances: 6. Our first ambulance was a 1941 Cadillac purchased from the Henrico Rescue Squad. Today, each of our ambulances cost more than $150,000 and carry nearly $125,000 in equipment and supplies!
• Hours of training: 2,000. In 1954, we provided Advanced First Aid to our members to qualify them to provide service. Today, our paramedics will complete nearly 2,000 hours of classroom training, practical laboratory work, hospital rotations, ambulance clinical time and field training before they can provide care independently!
• Least known fact about the Squad: We were the first squad in the Richmond area to accept women.
• How to reach us in an emergency: 911. We are dispatched through the Chesterfield County 911 center, which we call the "Emergency Communications Center." Our original number (82-8998) won't even work any more -- when we started doing this, numbers only had six digits!

We'll add to this list over time, but that gives you a sense of some of the work we do!