People of the Night
Most people in the neighborhood don't think about it, they just call and the rescue squad shows up. Usually they are people we don't know, strangers who come and take care of those who are hurt and scared.
They are there nights, holidays and weekends, sunny days and stormy nights, pulling bodies from crumpled cars, rushing an old man or woman with chest pains to the hospital, comforting a soon to be mother on the ride she will never forget. Sometimes the call is routine and simple, other times it is a time consuming and dangerous rescue mission, but no one doubts for a moment that when they pick up the telephone and call for help, help will come.
At times the public takes the volunteers who serve on rescue squads for granted. But the service provided by rescue squads in North Carolina is astounding. If you live in North Carolina the chances are excellent that if you need Emergency Medical attention, your first treatment will come from a man or woman who is not paid a dime for getting up in the middle of the night and rushing to your side.
The trained Emergency Medical technicians and Medical Responders who save lives spend their days as factory workers, farmers, storekeepers and are ready to drop everything they are doing to rush to the aid of sick and injured victims. They give up nights, weekend and holidays to receive additional training, not because it gets them anything, but because it might help save a life one day.
One of the unique things about the concept of volunteer work is that often the complicated equipment needed has been bought with donations. The people who use it have to solicit the people who need it to kick a few bucks to make sure they have it when they need it. Lives in North Carolina have been saved by bake sales, pig pickings, door to door collections, and other fund raising events.
The squad is financed by the Counties of Pasquotank and Camden and by donations from the public. The rescue operates seven days a week - 365 days a year from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM weekdays, all day Sundays and all holidays.
by S.D. Mickey Sr. - Reprinted from the 1987 Annual First Aid/Yearbook