South Orange Rescue Squad holds open house for children, families

It’s an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon in Carrboro, and dozens of children are sitting in ambulances at the South Orange Rescue Squad station.

But instead of crying, the kids are laughing and enjoying Maple View Farm ice cream.

The children and their families have come to the station for the South Orange Rescue Squad open house.

The squad is an all-volunteer rescue organization in Carrboro that provides EMS coverage for UNC events and special events in the area and backup coverage for the Orange County 911 system.

Chief Matthew Mauzy said the annual event is an opportunity to show community members the variety of services that the squad provides.

“We do it as a demo to show our building and the ambulances and to invite some of our partner agencies,” he said.

Community members explored ambulances, EMT gear, rescue trucks and rescue boats. They also took part in EMT demos and rescue rope demos, all while enjoying free ice cream.

Mauzy said the event is also a good opportunity to familiarize children with emergency response procedures.

“We can put them in the back of an ambulance when it’s a calm environment,” he said. “So that if, heaven forbid, they ever had to call 911 and needed an ambulance, it’s not one more big and scary thing.”

Many of the organizations the squad partners with — including the Chapel Hill Fire and Police departments, Carrboro Fire-Rescue and Police departments, Orange County Emergency Services and UNC Department of Public Safety — came out for the open house.

Scott Lodge, staff officer for quality assurance and quality improvement at Orange County EMS, said the partnership has proved crucial in reducing response times in 2012.

“In the middle of 2011, we added a nighttime unit between us and South Orange Rescue Squad,” Scott said. “We provide the paramedic, and they provide ambulance and emergency technician.”

Scott said the average response time in 2012 through Aug. 31 was 9 minutes and 52 seconds — down from 18 minutes for 90 percent of emergencies in 2011.

Alex Smith, a senior biology major at UNC and an EMT volunteer with the squad, said the volunteers are always working to improve response times.

“We’re always close to the trucks and ready to go,” he said. “And we’re always by our radios so that we can leave as soon as we hear a call come in.”

Smith started working with the squad during his junior year. He said he likes that it is an all-volunteer organization.

“We’re not getting paid or being forced to do this,” he said. “We all want to do it.

“We’re all really passionate about this and enjoy it, and we respect each for being here.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.