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Residents 'adopt' fire and rescue station, urge other neighborhoods to do the same Date published: 1/2/2007
WHEN Sheryl Bennett moved to Spotsylvania County from Pittsburgh in 2002 she felt comforted that the Wilderness fire and rescue station was less than a mile down the road from her new home.
So when her husband's heart condition warranted an ambulance ride, Bennett confidently called 911 and waited. And waited. She called 911 again. And waited. After about 20 minutes, a fire truck arrived. No ambulance. The problem, she was told, was that it was after 3 p.m. on a Friday. Company 7 was manned Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. "My jaw dropped," Bennett recalled recently. "How could they not be there all the time?" A year later, a similar situation--this time a nearby house fire--prompted Bennett to take action. She circulated a petition among her neighbors urging round-the-clock EMS and fire coverage at Company 7, which is on Orange Plank Road near Wilderness Battlefield. "I don't think anybody knew it was not manned [all the time]," said Melissa Baker, a founding member of the Spotsylvania Coalition for 24/7 Fire and Emergency Services. The coalition was Bennett's idea. More than 300 people living in the subdivisions surrounding Company 7 signed the petition. Now, the station is manned from "They've been behind us in getting staffing," said Spotsylvania County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Terry Snellings. And not just at Company 7. By asking questions, the coalition prompted supervisors to consider emergency services. "It's been a phenomenal evolution of learning on our part on what our county has--the resources, the dedication, the red tape," Bennett said. Almost immediately, the group "adopted" Company 7. Even before the coalition was organized, the neighborhood started holding fundraisers. "Company 7 had needs not being met," said Bennett. So the residents raised $5,000 with a chili cook-off and silent auction. A community cookbook organized by Baker was unveiled with a bake sale and tasting. Two printings later, the cookbook has brought in $10,000 for Company 7.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 1/2/2007
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