A Salute to Addison County
RESCUE CREWS
July 2015
Orwell Rescue Squad leader reflects on five decades of service By  ANDY  KIRKALDY essentials  course  now,  then  it  was  a  ORWELL  —  Orwell  native  and  45-Âhour  course,  I  took  three  of  those,â€?  dairy  farmer  Louis  Hall  can’t  exactly  he  said.  “I  took  a  lot  of  county  and  recall  how  he  ended  up  on  the  Orwell  VWDWH FRXUVHV , KDYH D SLOH RI FHUWLÂż Volunteer  Fire  Department  48  years  cates.  I  was  just  into  training.â€? ago.   As  Hall  joined,  the  department  was  “I  really  don’t  remember  how  I  got  busy  moving  from  a  two-Âbay  build- started,â€?  said  Hall,  now  71.  “I  joined  ing  in  the  village  to  its  current  home  in  ’67,  and  I  don’t  on  Route  73  just  remember  if  some- east  of  the  village.  ´, Ă€ JXUHG body  asked  me.  It  The  department  wasn’t  one  of  those  VWHSSLQJ GRZQ DV then  owned  two  things  where  I  had  a  À UH FKLHI ZDV WKH trucks,  one  15  and  burning  desire  all  my  one  19  years  old.  EHVW WKLQJ WR GR life.  I  just  joined.â€? Now,  the  depart- But  Hall,  who  EXW ,¡P QRW VXUH , ment  operates  stepped  down  as  the  seven  trucks  out  of  ¿ UH GHSDUWPHQW FKLHI UHDOO\ ZDQWHG WR Âľ a  twice-Âexpanded  this  past  January  ³ /RXLV +DOO facility  on  a  site  after  37  years  serv- it  shares  with  the  ing  in  that  post,  does  town’s  highway  recall  moving  up  the  ranks  quickly.  department. %\ KH ZDV WKH Âż UH GHSDUW “Over  time,  look  at  our  building,  ment’s  secretary,  in  1971  and  1972  two  expansions,  new  trucks,  new  KH VHUYHG DV LWV WUDLQLQJ RIÂż FHU LQ rescue  vehicles,  new  equipment,â€?  1972  he  became  a  trustee,  and  in  Hall  said,  adding,  “The  town  select- 1978  the  department’s  volunteer  board  and  the  town  voters  have  been  members  elected  him  chief  for  the  very  generous  to  us.â€? Âż UVW RI PDQ\ WLPHV Orwell  Selectboard  Chairman  Hall,  also  one  of  the  founders  of  Roland  “Tedâ€?  Simmons  said  the  the  Orwell  Rescue  Squad,  said  once  ¿ UH GHSDUWPHQW KDV HDUQHG WKDW KH EHFDPH D PHPEHU RI WKH Âż UH generosity.  department  he  plunged  right  in. Âł7KH Âż UH GHSDUWPHQW QHHGV VRPH “I  guess  I  kind  of  jumped  right  thing,  they  get  it.  The  town  doesn’t  into  things,  because  I  took,  it’s  the  (See  Hall,  Page  7)
Rivers answered the call with 9$56 DURXQG FLW\ IXUWKHU DĂ€ HOG By  JOSEPH  BROWN VERGENNES  —  “I  miss  it.  I’ll  be  honest:  I  miss  it,â€?  said  Ann  Rivers,  who  devoted  more  than  two  decades  to  serving  her  community  on  the  Vergennes  Area  Rescue  Squad.  “When  the  sirens  go,  I  miss  it.â€?  Rivers,  66,  retired  from  VARS  this  past  April  after  21  years  spending  countless  hours  in  and  out  of  ambu- lances  and  helping  people  in  all  kinds  of  emergency  situations.  “But  it’s  time  to  travel  and  spend  more  time  doing  fun  stuff,â€?  Rivers,  66,  said  in  a  recent  interview. In  those  21  years  with  VARS,  Rivers,  who  was  an  advanced  EMT  for  VARS,  has  seen  the  rescue  squad  change  quite  a  bit,  both  in  terms  of  rigor  and  in  skill  level.  “Now  it’s  getting  more  intense,â€?  she  said.  “They’re  always  adding  on  medi- cine  that  you  have  to  go  to  school  for, Â
which  is  very  helpful  with  a  patient.â€? Indeed,  the  requirements  for  work- ing  with  VARS  can  be  surprising. “We  have  to  learn  how  to  do  a  12-Âlead,â€?  said  Rivers,  describing  the  process  of  using  electrodes  to  moni- tor  a  patient’s  heart.  “You  would  do  a  12-Âlead  on  somebody  and  send  it  right  to  the  hospital  and  they  could  read  it  ‌  And  each  year  they  would  add  more  and  more  on.â€? Rivers’  interest  in  medicine  and  rescue  work  developed  from  a  very  early  age. “Back  in  high  school,  I  took  a  nurs- ing  program  to  go  to  nursing  school,â€?  the  Williston  native  said.  “And  then  when  I  graduated  I  got  married.  I’ve  always  wanted  to  do  something  like  that.  And  my  neighbor  across  the  road,  LOUIS  HALL  STANDS  on  the  running  board  of  the  Orwell  Rescue  Squad’s  First  Response  vehicle,  which  actually,  got  me  involved  in  rescue.â€? was  purchased  used  from  Middlebury  Regional  EMS.  The  dozen  members  of  Orwell’s  squad  respond  to  be- The  sort  of  person  who  spends  more  tween  70  and  80  calls  a  year,  said  Hall,  who  was  among  a  dozen  squad  founders  back  in  1973.  Independent  photo/Andy  Kirkaldy (See  Rivers,  Page  12)
A special publication of The Addison Independent