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-hour course, I took three of those,” dairy farmer Louis Hall can’t exactly he said. “I took a lot of county and recall how he ended up on the Orwell state courses. I have a pile of certifiVolunteer Fire Department 48 years cates. I was just into training.” ago. As Hall joined, the department was “I really don’t remember how I got busy moving from a two-bay buildstarted,” 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 someeast of the village. “I figured body asked me. It The department wasn’t one of those (stepping down as then owned two things where I had a fire chief) was the trucks, one 15 and burning desire all my one 19 years old. best thing to do, life. I just joined.” Now, the departBut Hall, who but I’m not sure I ment operates stepped down as the seven trucks out of fire department chief really wanted to.” a twice-expanded this past January — Louis Hall facility on a site after 37 years servit shares with the ing in that post, does town’s highway recall moving up the ranks quickly. department. By 1969, he was the fire depart“Over time, look at our building, ment’s secretary, in 1971 and 1972 two expansions, new trucks, new he served as its training officer, in rescue vehicles, new equipment,” 1972 he became a trustee, and in Hall said, adding, “The town select1978 the department’s volunteer board and the town voters have been members elected him chief for the very generous to us.” first of many times. Orwell Selectboard Chairman Hall, also one of the founders of Roland “Ted” Simmons said the the Orwell Rescue Squad, said once fire department has earned that he became a member of the fire generosity. department he plunged right in. “The fire department needs some“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 VARS around city, further afield By JOSEPH BROWN VERGENNES — “I miss it. I’ll be honest: I miss it,” 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.” Rivers, 66, retired from VARS this past April after 21 years spending countless hours in and out of ambulances and helping people in all kinds of emergency situations. “But it’s time to travel and spend more time doing fun stuff,” 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,” she said. “They’re always adding on medicine that you have to go to school for,
which is very helpful with a patient.” Indeed, the requirements for working with VARS can be surprising. “We have to learn how to do a 12-lead,” said Rivers, describing the process of using electrodes to monitor a patient’s heart. “You would do a 12-lead on somebody and send it right to the hospital and they could read it … And each year they would add more and more on.” Rivers’ interest in medicine and rescue work developed from a very early age. “Back in high school, I took a nursing program to go to nursing school,” 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, actually, got me involved in rescue.” The sort of person who spends more (See Rivers, Page 12)
LOUIS HALL STANDS on the running board of the Orwell Rescue Squad’s First Response vehicle, which was purchased used from Middlebury Regional EMS. The dozen members of Orwell’s squad respond to between 70 and 80 calls a year, said Hall, who was among a dozen squad founders back in 1973.
Independent photo/Andy Kirkaldy
A special publication of The Addison Independent