Rescue squads honored for volunteer work

In appreciation of their service to the community and the lives they have saved over the years, the week of May 20 has been set aside by the state as Rescue Squad Week.

In a proclamation by Gov. Phil Bredesen, the state will honor the rescue squads of the state with the week of appreciation for the volunteer services they perform.

Locally, the Warren County Rescue Squad has been in operation since 1954, serving both as a rescue squad and as charitable organization where the squad provides toys for well over 1,000 children each year as part of its annual toy drive. The group takes donations of toys and money year-round before distributing the toys to underprivileged children during the Christmas season.

?Throughout the years the rescue squad has assisted in numerous searches and other water rescues along with multiple first-responder calls,? said member Karen Turner. ?We also assist other communities in search and rescue.?

The squad is a volunteer organization, based out of its office on Sparta Street.

?Our members take time out of their schedules for training such as emergency driving (which is being held at the mall parking lot today) trench rescue, swift-water rescue, extrication and other life saving techniques,? Turner said.

There are 116 rescue squads within the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads, with Warren County having one rescue squad.

?Those who work in the rescue squads provide an invaluable service through their assistance to their community during time of need and crisis,? Gov. Bredesen said in making the proclamation.