Early March 1954, an accident occurred causing a victim to lie, for far too long, in the road until an "ambulance" arrived. When the "ambulance" finally arrived it was a hearse with attendants that could only take the victim to the closest hospital; they provided no First Aid.

Our founders, listed below, met a few days later to form a rescue squad. On June 15, 1954, MANCHESTER VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD was born. There were 38 charter members ready to serve the public. They were trained in Advanced First Aid and each had taken a driving course. The first ambulance was a converted 1945 Cadillac Hearse and the first uniform was a Red Baseball cap.

The first call came in on June 19, 1954. Three crew members responded to an auto crash. In 1954, they ran 121 calls and put 1,938 miles on the ambulance.

Membership:

Our organization currently has an active membership of 58. These members range from Driver level to Paramedic level. These 58 active members last year offered our county and its citizens over 26,000 hours of marked up ambulance time. This does not include the administrative hours to run the organization.

Equipment:

The organization has five ALS equipped ambulances, one dive unit and one first response vehicle. MVRS is always looking to better serve the public with the most up to date equipment. Stop by and see us and we can show you what your donations can do for you and your neighbors.

FOUNDING MEMBERS

• A.D. Bass
• W. K. "Bill" Houchins
• T. E. "Tommy" Reekes
• James B. "Jim" Henry
• William H. "Jiggs" Perkins
• J. A. "Red" Woodfin