Contractors are busy hanging new sheetrock for new private quarters and offices in the upstairs of the Christiansburg Rescue Squad building.
By Marty Gordon
The Christiansburg Rescue Squad building on Depot Street is receiving a facelift, the first since the facility was opened in 1997.
Chief Joe Coyle said the project is something that will make the facility more efficient, comfortable and private for his members.
In the past, military-style bunkrooms were spread across the upstairs of the building. Now, there will be as many as six private rooms and restrooms.
“Just like anywhere else, you have individuals who sleep differently while on duty. Some people snore. Some are noisy, and others would like quiet. Now, we will have that,” he said Monday.
Males and females will now also have more privacy.
In addition to the new sleeping quarters, there are new storage areas and private meeting rooms along with offices for officers and volunteers.
“We really never had any of this in the past. Now, we can lock reports away and have better control over storage,” Coyle said.
Sleeping quarters have become important in the squad’s service to the community. “Of course, that has changed from the past when we depended on volunteers to rush to the building when there was a call. Now, there are simply a lot of our members staying here,” the squad leader said.
Calls have increased 26 percent in the last five years increasing five percent annually. The increase in calls furthers the need for members on site to e able to respond more quickly.
Last year, the squad answered an estimated 4,700 calls. Already, the estimate for this year is expected to be 4,800 to 5,000.
Because of the increase, the town has also added five full-time supervisors and two other transportation staffers. Coyle said that increase helps with the demand while still having 80 very active volunteers.
The project is being funded ($400,000) without any new taxpayer money. Instead, the town is taking advantage of a Revenue Recovery Fund established seven years ago.
“We have been very pleased by what we have been able to fund because of something that any person’s health insurance has built into it. The funding does not come from the person using our service, so it doesn’t affect them any,” Coyle commented.
Since its inception, the Revenue Recovery Fund has replaced three ambulances at an average of $285,000, covered funding for the new staffing, added ultrasound equipment to the ambulances, training and AED units for each of the town’s police squad cars.
“We can use it for anything that benefits the EMS program, and you can see it with this renovation and the new ambulances,” Coyle said.
In addition, the town is supplementing its funding to the regional 911 budget. Coyle said in Fiscal Year 2019 approximate $195,500 was generated while an estimated $202,275 will go toward the 911 budget.
Contractors hope to have the rescue renovation project completed by the end of April, and squad members will begin moving in shortly after.
