Patrick County’s career crews serve in more ways than one, according to Crystal Harris, who supported the creation of a paid service to backup volunteers and fill in the gaps to provide services directly to those in need.

Harris, who represents the Smith River District on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors, said she is pleased that the service is meeting or exceeding expectations.

The service “gets help to emergency calls when our local departments cannot help. It is getting help to the people, and taking care of the residents of Patrick County, and that is our top priority,” Harris said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a godsend.”

Ronald Terry, chief of the Meadows of Dan Volunteer Fire Department, said the response to calls for emergency service has improved and now is “a lot better.”

He explained that while many “may not realize it, before Station 8 started, (dispatchers) with the 911 Center would have to call back sometimes” and tell those who had called for service “‘I’m sorry, but we can’t get anyone to respond.’”

Or, it could take an inordinate amount of time to get a response because the volunteer squads were “on the other side of the county,” responding to one call when another call was logged, Terry said. That often delayed treatment and the start of potential life-saving measures, he said.

Noting that he “can’t say a person would have survived” a medical emergency, or would not have survived a health emergency before the career program was implemented, “it has helped a bunch” ensuring calls are covered.

It also provides peace of mind, he said, adding that “when someone calls 911, they need to know someone is coming.”

Terry said he also maintains close contact with the Vesta Volunteer Rescue Squad. “Everybody there that I can think of” agrees that the paid service has helped take a burden from volunteers and provide services to those in need. “In my opinion, it’s a great thing,” Terry said.

Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith said dispatchers are no longer faced with the problem of a lack of volunteers to respond to calls to provide emergency medical services during the day.

“Our volunteers are great, but they have to work during the day,” Smith said.

Rodney Howell, who retired from his post of director of Henry County Public Safety, said creating the service “was something that had to occur.”

Howell, who continues to teach classes and also is a volunteer with the Patrick-Henry Volunteer Fire Department, said “Patrick County did great to avoid it as long as it did, which is a credit to the volunteers. Every other locality had a paid service way before Patrick did.”

But, he added “the world has changed a lot since I started as a volunteer. We no longer have people volunteer like we used to have because people have to work” and sometimes commute a considerable distance to do so.

The additional investment of time that is now required for training to attain and keep certifications also is a factor, Howell said.

Even though some squads pay volunteers, it is difficult to attract and retain them because time is always a factor, Howell said, adding that local squads generally have more calls for services than they have resources.

“That’s why you need Station 8,” Howell said. “It’s a sign of the times.”