CAVE SPRING RESCUE SQUAD

We currently offer four membership categories. They are briefly summerized as follows: Junior - For individuals 16 or 17 years old looking to gain experience in pre-hospital care and are assigned to a duty team. Senior - This is our standard membership category for 18 and older individuals and are assigned to a duty team. Associate - These members make their own schedules and run a minimum of 24 hours of service a month. To be eligible, you must hold a current state or nationally registered certification and have a minimum of two years experience with an emergency medical services agency. Academic - For full-time students attending a university or college outside the Roanoke Valley. They are assigned to a duty team but are excused from their duty shifts during the school year. However they are expected to run their shifts as scheduled during holiday and summer breaks. For more information and detailed description of each membership category, please click here.

Yes as long as you are able to meet the time commitment.

Becoming a volunteer EMT is a great way to gain experience before starting a career in medicine. Familiarizing yourself with the "lingo" of the field, getting experience working with patients and other healthcare professionals, and learning how to stay calm under pressure are just a few reason. Many of our volunteers have gone on to become nurses and doctors, PA's, physical therapists, and pursued careers in EMS

Almost half of our current membership are full-time college students or former students when they joined. It can seem demanding on your schedule however we consider it no more then the average person who has a "nine-to-five" and family at home. We provide quite rooms and spaces for studying and doing homework while on duty, highspeed internet, copy and fax machine, and flexibility with shifts.

Yes, we offer a Junior Membership for those 16 or 17 years of age. Volunteering in EMS for Junior members provides an immense amount of growth opportunities and experience. It takes a very special and mature individual to perform the same tasks and meet the same expectations as adults in EMS. That includes going on calls and assisting in patient care. You're rewarded with great experience before pursuing a career in medicine, you earn community service hours, it looks great on college applications. But not just that, you mature in a way that many of your fellow classmates can't. Junior members are expected to be certified EMT's and are assigned to a regular duty team. They are set home after 11:00pm on school nights however they are expected to run their full shift on weekends and during holidays.

Absolutely! Our Citizen Observer Program allows you to ride with our crew on the ambulance to every call with no commitment to join. You'll enter patients houses, see the crew performing patient assessments and treatments, ride with the patient in the ambulance to the hospital and go inside the emergency room. You may even see someone cut out of a car or respond to a house fire. This gives you a great first hand experience of what volunteering is like and typically what our crews face while performing their duties. You just have to pass a simple background check. Click here for more information or to fill out the form.

No, you volunteer your time to give back to your community with no monitary compensation. However, as a member of CSRS you are eligible to participate in Roanoke County's Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) where you could be rewarded $500 a year. This is done by accumilating a certain number of points per year which are earned based on the number of hours you volunteer and the training and certifications completed.

You are issued a crew uniform and sent to a local uniform supply store to select a pair of EMS pants. You must purchase your own boots. The Logistics Lt. can assist you in selecting a pair. You will also be assigned a set of turnout gear.

The crews use their downtime to train and run scenerios, perform station chores, and complete inventory and checkoffs off all the trucks and equipment. When those are complete, the crew can be found doing anything from just hanging out watching TV together, playing basketball or pingpong, working out in or gym, or studying.

If you are Senior, Academic, or Junior member you will be assigned to a duty crew that operates over night. This will require you to sleep at the station. We have seperate male and female bunk rooms with very comfortable beds and linens along with seperate shower facilties. Associate members who make their own schedule do not necessarily have to sleep overnight at the station as they make their own run schedule according to their availability.

The benifits are worth more than money. Serving your community, making a difference, making a lifelong impact on the lives of people, building long lasting relationships, brotherhood, and memories with the people you serve with. The crew becomes a second family. Be a part of something big, bigger then yourself. And going home knowing you saved someones life is an awesome feeling. Just ask a current member.

Given the nature of the job, a tolerance to blood​, smells, and often unpleasant unsightly things is required. It can be a dirty job but we love every minute of it. We recommend signing up for our Citizen Observer Program to give you a non-commital chance to experience and observer first hand what our crews face on a daily basis.

It is and we take our responsibility very serious. After all, we're responding to our friends, our neighbors, sometimes our own family and loved ones. We may be volunteers but we consider ourselves professionals.

No, your average speeding ticket will not prevent you from passing your background checks or becoming a volunteer. However, depending on the number of points you have on your license, it may prevent you from being permitted to drive apparatus.

We do not currently offer a driver only membership.

A small portion of Roanoke County's General Fund is granted to CSRS to assist with operational expenses. This contribution covers less then 5% of our operating budget. We rely almost entirely from the generous contributions from the community that we love and serve. For more information on how to support CSRS, please click here.

Cave Spring Rescue Squad operates as an independant agency under the umbrella and operational license of Roanoke County Fire & Rescue.

We love spending time with the community and sharing the work that we do. We frequently participate in special events at community centers, churches, and schools in which we will put our apparatus on display, give demonstrations, and let children see the inside. For more information, please click here to email our Deputy Chief.

Our crews spend many long hours training, taking classes, and running duty hours with no financial compensation. Hearing from our community that we've done a good job validates our hard work and motivates us to continue that work. Anywhere from a simple handshake and thank you to a card mailed to us will be much appreciated by the crew.

You must be at least 16 years of age and have a strong interest in pre-hospital patient care. You must submit to and pass both a Virginia State Police background check and FBI National background check and be of good moral character. This includes never having been convicted of a felony involving, but not limited to: assault, sexual battery or rape, robbery, burglary, or murder. You must hold a Virginia EMT, AEMT, Intermediate or a Paramedic certification upon applying, and be able to meet the time commitment.

Yes, we can provide EMS standby coverage at both the BLS and ALS level. Please click here and fill out the request form.

The person responsible for patient care and everything that goes on during a call is the AIC (Attendant In Charge). These are specially trained individuals who go through a rigorus vetting process that exceeds their basic training to ensure top quality patient care.

The certifcation classes that career (paid) EMS providers attend are the exact same classes all of our volunteers attend. The certifcations and training are the same. In fact, we pride ourselves at not only meeting the same standards but exceeding them. This includes having the very best in equipment and supplies. We are able to exceed and go above and beyond these standards because we are not constrained by many of the budgetary challenges a paid department might have and because our culture strives to be the best. We are, after all, responding to our neighbors. In some cases we are able to provide more coverage and more staffing.

In the state of Virginia, someone as young as 16 may join a rescue squad, attend class and become certified as an EMT, and participate in patient care. These are our Junior Members. They are held to the same standards and expectations as our adult members. They go through the same training. Through our membership process we select only Junior Members who present with exceptional maturity and must maintain a certain GPA in school to remain a member.

Absolutely. We call it an E-Service call. We are happy to provide lift assistance to uninjured members of the community day or night. You need not worry about being a bother or inconveniencing us. This is what we're here for. If you are in need of lift assistance, we recommend calling Roanoke County's non-emergency number at 540-562-3267. Or when in doubt, you can still dial 911.

Here are a few tips that will help us when we come to help you: Keep house numbers clearly lit and visible from the street and trim back low hanging trees that may impede the ambulance from backing into your driveway. Flash the porch light when you see or hear us approaching or send someone out to the road to flag us down. Be careful not to enter into the roadway. Put up all pets in a seperate room and if able, clear a path of any furniture, children's toys, or debris that may impede our ability to get our stretcher to the patient. Have a copy of a list of all current medications the patient is currently taking that we can take with us to the hospital. (We recommend filling out our Patient Information Form to give to the crew upon their arrival. Click here to download it.)

The Virginia Office of EMS requires that you hold a Virginia certification to practice as an EMT in Virginia. There are several ways you can obtain reciprocity in Virginia if you hold a certification in another state. VA OEMS states they will accept and grant a maximum of one year of Legal Recognition to providers holding certification from another state. According to VA OEMS, no initial testing is required to obtain Legal Recognition. However once Legal Recognition expires, providers must recertify under VA requirements which includes the required VA ce requirements, passing the VA practical exam, as well as the NREMT cognitive exam. `

While not a requirement to take our class and become an EMT, the best way to begin is by applying for membership. As a member you will have the opportunity to put into practice what you learn in the class as you progress. You'll also have constant access to an array of teachers, tutors, and mentors while on the crew as well as access to all the tools and equipment you'll need to practice and perfect your skills.

We regularly hold our EMT class each Spring that starts in January and goes through May. Occasionally we do offer a Fall EMT class. For more information on upcoming EMT classes, click here.

We greatlly appreciate your genorisity and financial support. Tipping is not necessary and never expected. We discourage giving cash donations to our crews. Our preference to receive your donation would be either through a check or other online method. For more information on how to donate and financially support CSRS, please click here.

We generally do not send out receipts for donations we've received. We've found that your cancelled check that you can retain for your bank serves the purpose as record of your donation for tax purposes.

Our famous Chicken BBQ fundraisers are held twice a year. Weather permitting, they are typically the first Saturday in October and May.