Rappahannock residents stepping up to train as EMTs

County ramping up efforts to boost emergency responders

For many years, one of the bigger challenges facing Rappahannock County has been the dwindling supply of fire and rescue volunteers.

But a ramped-up effort to train more local residents is showing promising results, according to Darren Stevens, the county’s emergency services coordinator.

As many as 20 volunteers countywide either recently qualified or may soon qualify for certification as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), enabling them to provide on-the-scene medical care and also to transport patients to a hospital emergency room.

The number includes seven members of the Flint HIll Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company who first received training to certify as emergency medical responders (EMRs). It was a way for them to learn a basic level of emergency care before committing to the more demanding certification process to become EMTs.

That, said Stevens, was part of a “pilot program” to quickly train new members of the volunteer company that has been in a state of flux since January 2023, when the county’s Board of Supervisors replaced the company’s officers with a new group. Supporters of the change cited the company’s loss of its state license to respond to medical emergencies in 2022. 

But the Flint Hill story took another twist recently when a panel of the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that the county’s Board of Supervisors did not have the authority to remove the previous officers. It is not yet known if the county will appeal that decision.

A step forward

Flint Hill now has four additional members who are EMT-certified to run emergency calls in the company’s ambulance. As EMRs, they were only able to provide basic first aid before an ambulance arrived, such as reducing blood flow or opening a patient’s airway.

“This is a huge step in a positive direction for the Flint Hill company. I could not be more proud of the individuals who have stepped up to the plate so they can serve the community,” said Flint Hill Chief Sean Knick.

“We went that route because becoming an EMT can be daunting and we wanted to give them a lower hurdle to becoming involved,” said Stevens. “We felt that we would either have a student with new-found confidence to tackle the EMT training with their eyes open, or they’d say ‘enough is enough.’ But at least we’d walk away with somebody who has some training to continue to serve the community.”

EMT certification in Virginia requires 144 hours of classroom training and 10 of clinical and field experience. Only about 60 hours of classroom training are necessary to become an EMR.

An online option 

Elsewhere in the county, more volunteers have stepped up their training to become EMTs. Amissville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Chief J.B. Carter has arranged a class for which nine volunteers from the Amissville and Washington fire and rescue companies signed up. Two dropped out, but he expects the other seven to take their certification tests within the next month or so.

At the same time, other volunteers are following a different route to EMT certification. Instead of attending the classroom sessions required in the traditional process — two nights a week and all-day classes every other Saturday — they’re taking a hybrid online course which includes about a week of in-the-field training.

Six members of the Sperryville Volunteer Rescue Squad have either completed or are working through the online course, according to the company’s chief, Todd Summers. Carter said three Amissville volunteers are doing the same.

“We’re like the other companies, desperate for certified EMTs to provide services to our community,” said Summers. “Anything we can do to get people through a certification process we’ll take.

“A lot of people would prefer to have the in-person training,” he added, “but the scheduling requirements are more than most people can manage. So this is a great alternative for us.”

Randy Rieland is a reporter for Foothills Forum, a nonprofit organization that supports local news in Rappahannock County.

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