Albemarle County Fire Rescue will assume responsibility for emergency medical service delivery for Southern Albemarle, effective immediately.
This announcement follows a vote for the dissolution of the Scottsville Volunteer Rescue Squad (SVRS), which has increasingly relied on supplemental staffing from ACFR to meet minimum staffing over the past several months. This decision was reached through deliberations by the Board of Supervisors over the past several months and in recognition that consistent, reliable, and qualified EMS coverage for the Scottsville area and Southern Albemarle is paramount for such a critical public safety service.
In December 2018, Albemarle County Fire Rescue Chief Dan Eggleston received a letter from the Scottsville Volunteer Rescue Squad Board Chair S. John Waits to request support from the County for day-to-day operations and to supplement the current volunteers with ACFR staff to provide EMS coverage. Since that time, ACFR has fulfilled SVRS’ requests – initially, for coverage for overnight shifts on Wednesdays and Fridays, and full 24-hour coverage on Saturdays and Sundays. However, SVRS has continued to struggle with volunteer retention and at present, ACFR is providing EMS staff coverage for nearly all shifts through voluntary overtime opportunities for staff throughout the ACFR system. Such reliance on overtime is not a sustainable long-term strategy for service from Scottsville and moving forward, ACFR will be better able to appropriately resource the station.
The Board of Supervisors sincerely thanked the members of SVRS for their dedication in providing emergency medical service for their community since 1974. ACFR remains committed to working with the members of SVRS and its Board during this transition to continue to meet the EMS needs of the community and welcomes the opportunity to work together for Southern Albemarle.
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