Sept. 13--Just 20 minutes after the Campbell County Rescue Squad received a donation of vehicle stabilizing tools Wednesday, a call came for an SUV that had overturned on U.S. 460.
It's just one example of the types of calls for which the new equipment will come in handy. The $12,200 equipment will be used to stabilize vehicles while first responders pull people out of wrecks, improving the safety of the patients and emergency crews.
Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation awarded Campbell County Rescue Squad with two sets of the TeleCrib Stabilization System equipment -- one for regular vehicles and one for larger vehicles, such as buses and tractor trailers.
"This is a big help to us," said Steve Coleman, a lieutenant with the Campbell County Rescue Squad and the one who applied for the donation.
As a volunteer organization, Coleman said it could not afford to purchase the equipment without help.
"This is state-of-the-art equipment," he said. "What we had before was improvised equipment. It wasn't the right thing to do the right job."
Coleman estimated about 60 percent of wreck they respond to require the equipment.
Campbell's squad was selected through a three-month application process as a recipient due to its need for the equipment and the fundraising efforts of the Wards Road store in Lynchburg, said Robin Peters, the executive director for the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.
The foundation began in 2005 after the eatery's founders -- both former firefighters -- helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Since then, $6.8 million has been awarded to public safety organizations throughout 38 states with franchises, including more than $359,000 in Virginia. Between 30 and 40 recipients are selected from more than 200 grants across the country every three months.
About 63 percent of the foundation's money comes from customers rounding up purchases to the nearest dollar at local stores and donating the difference, Peters said. Other fundraising efforts include selling empty pickle buckets for $2 a piece and regular donations to the fund. The Wards Road store raised more than $10,000 in 2012 -- mostly with pickle bucket sales, said Doug Griffith, the store's franchisee.
He said the foundation's cause has a special place in his heart because two Campbell County paramedics saved his life a few years ago when he had a severe allergic reaction.
"I pushed for this because this one meant a lot to me," Griffith said.
Although the squad received the equipment more than a month ago, the public announcement was made on Sept. 11, a day set aside to remember and honor those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks 12 years ago and the first responders who came out to help.
"On a day like September 11 it's just a reminder that there's no guarantee in life, but equipment like this will give you assurance that you can do what you need to for your patient and the crew members will go home safely," said Mike Oquendo, the rescue squad's president.
He said this equipment will help both the crews and patients in dangerous situations.
"It's still a scary moment," Oquendo said. "But knowing you have this equipment reassures me that at the end of the shift I will do what I can and still go home to my family."
Copyright 2013 - The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.
