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Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad

History

Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad has been making a difference since 1954.

A Community Springs into Action

Early in March 1954, an injured man lay on the side of Broad Rock Road after an accident. While bystanders witnessed this accident, no one was able to provide immediate transportation to a hospital. After an excessively long period of time an ambulance arrived to transport the injured man. It was a “transport” only as none of the ambulance crewmembers had medical training.

Shortly afterwards, several men met at Lankie’s Texaco Station to discuss what had occurred. They realized there was a definite need to provide ambulance service to the citizens of Chesterfield County. They announced in the newspaper that a meeting would be held for persons interested in forming a rescue squad.

Humble Beginnings

The meeting was held at the Holly Inn on Route 360 (Hull Street Road) on March 8: A.D. Bass, James B. "Jim" Henry, W.K. "Bill" Houchins, "Jiggs" Perkins, T.E. "Tommy" Reekes, and J. A. "Red" Woodfin committed to form the Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad. Training consisted of Red Cross First Aid and a driving course, the ambulance was a converted 1945 Cadillac hearse, the squad building was "Jiggs" Perkins' garage on Walmsley Boulevard, and the uniform was a red leather baseball cap. Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad responded to its first call on June 19, 1954.

The 1950’s

One of the first orders of business included constructing a new station. Squad members actively took part in the construction of the station on Broad Rock, which was dedicated on December 15, 1956. A new Chevrolet station wagon was donated to the squad by Martin Chevrolet to replace the Cadillac hearse. Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad added radio equipment to its ambulances. An aluminum boat with a 9.5 hp motor and trailer were also added to the fleet for water rescue operations.

The 1960’s

The squad acquired a “Crash Truck.” Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad purchased its first International Harvester ambulance, which could carry four people. By 1968, the vehicle bays had been commissioned for completion at the Broad Rock station and sleeping quarters were also added. In the late 1960’s, Dr. Gilliam, a well-respected physician in the community, became the first Medical Advisor (now called OMDs) of the squad.

The 1970’s

Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad began to serve both the City of Richmond and Chesterfield County due to part of the county being annexed to the City of Richmond, including the location of the Broad Rock station. The squad purchased a sub-station along Genito Road to address the growing rescue call load.

This era saw a tremendous amount of growth and advancement for the Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad. The Board approved the first female squad member. All radio communications in the squad’s fleet of vehicles were upgraded to the new VHF radio frequency band in use by Chesterfield County. In addition to adding new vehicles to its fleet for rescue responses, plans were approved to build a permanent building on Courthouse Road for use in lieu of the sub-station. On December 17, 1977, the new, permanent station opened at Courthouse Road. By 1978, Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad had eight vehicles on the books.

The 1980’s

911 became the official emergency call number in Chesterfield County. The Broad Rock station was sold in 1983. Fleet expansion and equipment upgrades continued throughout this era. Volunteer appreciation initiatives grew and expanded during the 1980’s to recognize the squad’s dedicated members.

The 1990’s

During the Persian Gulf-Desert Storm crisis, auxiliary members took the Emergency Vehicle Operators Course (EVOC) so they could drive ambulances and free-up EMTs to provide medical care to our soldiers returning from overseas. MVRS also responded to a tornado in Colonial Heights on August 6, 1993. The Colonial Heights City Council later praised the squad for “extraordinary efforts in providing assistance to the City of Colonial Heights.”

The 2000’s

The EMS logo of “Chesterfield Fire & EMS” is placed on all paid and volunteer units in Chesterfield County.

Present

Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad continues to embody the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor. Board members and volunteers continue to enhance our fleet of emergency response vehicles, participate in more than minimum amount of field training to keep our members’ skills sharp, and aim to be of the best service to Chesterfield County that we can be.