King William strains to meet fire, rescue needs

Lynn Barbour pulled the heart-monitor batteries out of their chargers and let out a heavy sigh.

King William County's Volunteer Fire & Rescue company had 40 of the batteries, which are the power source for defibrillators, the devices used to help people going through cardiac arrest.

Now they're down to 12, and those are fourto 10-year-old hand-medowns from another rescue squad.

"Most don't last us but 30 minutes, even the good ones," said Barbour, the county's EMS captain, training officer and a full-time EMS liaison for both Henrico Doctors' Hospital campuses. Volunteers often change batteries more than once during a call.

Equipment isn't the only challenge.

More people are moving into the area, and existing residents are aging.

The slow economy means more calls from people who have no way to get to a hospital or money for a visit to the doctor or hospital.

Equipment is wearing out faster and not being replaced as often.

Like groups in other rural areas, King William's all-volunteer fire and rescue organizations have reached a breaking point when it comes to volunteers and resources.

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In 2006, King William volunteers answered 1,119 calls.

Last year, there were 2,063 -- an 84 percent increase in two years -- and fire and rescue officials say they have seen more calls so far in 2009 than this time last year.

According to Census Bureau data, King William was Virginia's fifth fastest-growing locality between July 2006 and July 2007. The population grew 3.46 percent, from 15,165 people to 15,689.

"We have dedicated folks that run all the time, but you can only handle so much," Barbour said.

Trained volunteers are harder to find.

About 80 people give their time for King William Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Mangohick Volunteer Fire Department and West Point Volunteer Fire & Rescue.

The county needs more, especially those with fire and EMS training, said Steve Puckett, King William's emergency-services director. However, training is time-consuming and expensive.

Many volunteers have jobs outside the county, making it impossible to volunteer during weekdays when they're needed the most.

"Volunteerism has changed over the years," Puckett said. Years ago "people lived close by and they could leave work and go take an ambulance call."

But now an average ambulance call lasts several hours, and "employers just can't afford to let you do that," he said.

Response times are among Puckett's top priorities since being hired three years ago.

King William's average is 33 minutes. The national average is eight minutes.

Volunteers aren't required to stay at the stations during their shifts, so when a call comes in, they often leave home or their jobs, go to the station and then head back out to the call.

When it comes to needing paid professionals, "we are at that point now," Puckett said. Unfortunately, "we're trying to grow at the same time the economy is going down."

Coverage has become such an issue that one-third of the county -- the area from Central Garage to just outside West Point -- is served by the Walkerton Community Fire Association and the Mattaponi Volunteer Rescue Squad from King and Queen County.

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The story is familiar to other rural areas. New Kent and Louisa counties have added paid professionals to their volunteer base within the past decade.

Louisa Fire Chief Robert Dubé said the county has had paid EMS workers since 1999. Last month, The Louisa Board of Supervisors approved more paid firefighter/EMS positions, bringing the total to 30.

The county answers about 3,400 calls a year, Dubé said.

Louisa County Administrator Dale Mullen said residents and the business community complained about coverage and response times.

"What if your loved one, your spouse . . . mother or father needed an ambulance right now, and nobody was available to come?" he said. "That's a hard thing to think about."

New Kent began having paid professionals about five years ago, said Fire Chief Tommy Hicks.

Paid staff has helped bring the county's average response time down from 23 minutes to eight minutes. The county has 10 full-time and 22 part-time personnel and roughly 90 volunteers.

New Kent fielded 1,747 emergency calls last year.

Barbour said she thinks King William is at least a decade away from having paid professionals.

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The average King William emergency vehicle is 18 years old.

"Ten-year-old ambulances were OK five years ago when they ran three or four calls a week," Puckett said. Now, with upward of 20 calls a week, an older ambulance "isn't going to hold up."

A new ambulance loaded with supplies costs more than $190,000. Firetrucks can cost half a million dollars.

Three cardiac defibrillators, which Barbour says the county desperately needs, are $32,000 each.

King William's entire fire/EMS budget this year is $437,020, which is allocated to the county's three stations and the two mutual aid stations in King and Queen.

Barbour said the county has applied for a grant that will provide about $50,000 toward the three new defibrillators. She said it hopes to raise the matching $50,000 by the end of the year. Puckett said grants are out there but that they're hard to get when many require matches from already cash-strapped localities.

Fundraisers offer some relief. Last year, spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts and other events raised about $17,000.

But "you got to sell an awful lot of hamburgers and hot dogs to buy a firetruck," Puckett said.

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or .