Rescue squad answers record number of calls

Volunteer crew responded 1,079 times in 2011

By Ed Nadolski

Editor in Chief

The Burlington Rescue Squad answered 1,079 calls in 2011, establishing a record for the all-volunteer service, according to Capt. Jeff Koenen.

Koenen presented the squad’s annual report Jan. 16 at a meeting hosted by the Burlington Rotary Club, which is the charter organization for the rescue service.

Koenen said such a record generates mixed feelings – it indicates the service is working at peak efficiency, but that also means more local people are facing medical emergencies.

The number of calls in the past year – 1,079 – compares with 961 in 2010 and 908 in 2009.

This past year was also the first time the squad answered more than 100 calls in each of three separate months for a calendar year.

“December, with 115 calls, was the most we’ve ever had in a single month,” Koenen said, attributing the uptick to the unseasonably warm weather last month that had more people engaged in outdoor activities.

The three greatest reasons for dispatching the squad in 2011 were: falls and fractures, 135; general weakness, 125; and difficulty breathing, 101.

Koenen said those categories are often catchall terms or lead to the discovery of other more serious conditions.

“When the (pager) tones go off, we really don’t know what we’re getting into,” he said.

Perhaps more impressive than the number of calls answered by the squad is the number of hours donated by the 20 people who staff the service.

Koenen estimated that group donated more than 4,500 hours in service to the community. Those hours include actual calls, training, required education and meetings.

Overall, Koenen said, he was pleased with the squad’s efforts in 2011. “We had a lot of new experiences,” he said.

Among those was the creation of an EMT training course for Burlington High School students offered through Gateway Technical College. Twenty-one students took the course that was conceived and championed by squad member Troy Everson, who is a teacher at BHS. Fifteen of those students were welcomed as probationary members of the squad, but those numbers have since dwindled as the students went off to colleges and universities last fall.

“It’s something we knew going into it – that we’d lose many of them to college,” Koenen said. “But we’ve had some of them home and helping out over (winter) break.”

One of the high school trainees – Jessica Gardner – was among four EMTs who became full-fledged members of the squad during 2011. The other three are Haley Zmudzinski, Beth Vrchota and Christine Umnus.

Other members of the squad are Marcus Brandes, Sean Macey, Timothy McCourt, Simon Miller, Bruce Oldenburg, Joseph Patla, Timothy Robers, Justin Skrzynecki, Jackie Solofra, Jeffrey Solofra, Marcus Solofra, Steve Solofra, Thomas Solofra, Alan VanDuesseldorp and Brian Zwiebel.

The rescue squad had total operating expenses of $209,269 in 2011, but more than half that total is attributed to depreciation of equipment. The greatest operating expenses were for administrative and accounting services, and insurance, which amounted to roughly $45,000. Equipment maintenance ($4,414) and training ($5,624) along with various medical supplies, gasoline and administrative supplies accounted for the balance of the budget.

The one expense the squad doesn’t have – personnel – is a tribute to the selfless nature of its members, Koenen said.