INFORMATION ABOUT CARS

In 1958, a building under demolition near Court Square collapsed suddenly, trapping a passer-by in the rubble. Joel Cochran and Ted Patterson, two citizens with first-aid training, rescued the man and decided that a local rescue squad was needed. They, along with John Pannel and Charlie Rausch started collecting equipment and started teaching first-aid classes in order to start up a squad.

On November 15th, 1960, our squad started providing first-aid services to the citizens of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. We had 42 members, 40 men and 2 women. Our fund drive goal that year was $20,000 and we had 2 carry-all van ambulances as our fleet, along with 3 station wagons owned by squad members as the reserve fleet. The vans were sent to a local body shop where the roofs were reinforced to support two extra stretchers from the roof, rear bumper steps installed and other work done according to CARS spefications. The first call run was on November 17th, a pedestrian hit by a car. The running schedule was 2 - 3 person teams at home, dispatched by Joel Cochran's secretary. The first month of operations saw us answer 260 calls, the first year 853 calls. Initial training of prospective members included a 26-hour Red Cross basic & advanced first aid course followed by a "doctor's course" where Dr. David Strider advanced classes in obstetrics, burns, chest and abdominal injuries, general surgery and other fields over an 8-week period.

In 1962, two school buses filled with high school students from Saltville collided sending one down a 30 foot embankment at Rt 250 and Barracks Road resulting in 38 injuries. A trench collapse occured on Brandywine Drive where two people were injured. A major fire in a 14th St NW rooming house claimed 7 lives. CARS added a "crash truck" and scuba diving unit to the services we provided. CARS won 5 first place trophies at the VAVRS State Convention.

In 1963, our squad building was built by R.E. Lee for $92,340. It would cost over $1 million to replace it today. The land the present building sits on was donated by the City for the cost of $1 per year, and belongs to us as long as we use it. The site was an old swamp. Also, due to the increasing number of calls received, day dispatch is started up using a local telephone answering service as our dispatch center.

In 1965 the building had been paid for by donations much to the delight of Joel, who had personally guaranteed the original building loan.

In 1970, CARS was the first rescue squad in the state to require its members to be certified in CPR. That year saw the UVA Er see 20,000 patients.

In 1971, CARS was the first squad in the state to offer ALS service. One of our first patients was President Lyndon Johnson who suffered a MI while he was visiting his daughter and son-in-law Chuck Robb here at UVA.

In 1973, CARS started "stand alone" ALS coverage by utilizing a telemetry radio to call the UVA CCU for ALS orders and advise. The very first "Bio-phone" telemetry radio was sold to the TV show "Emergency", the next unit off the assembly line was sold to CARS.

In 1973, we had 60 members and answered 3,200 call for service. Women were required to leave the building after 8 PM for fear that the public might think a scandal was afoot.

In 1974, Dr. Richard Crampton, a professor of medicine at UVA, published an article that Charlottesville had a 26% drop in pre-hospital coronary death rates, and a 62% decline in ambulance coronary death rates 3 years after CARS started up it's ALS program. The percentages remain as records to this day.

In 1975, Thacker Construction built an addition to our building which has 3 bays, 2 bedrooms and a large meeting room. The addition cost $153,924.

In 1976, CARS becomes the first squad in the state to require all it's member to be trained as EMT's.

In 1977, Newsweek Magazine named CARS one of the top 4 rescue squads in the country. (The other 3 were Seattle Fire Dept., the Chicago Fire Dept., and the Los Angeles County Fire Dept. where the then popular TV show "Emergency" was filmed). Our fund drive that year was $125,000 and we responded to 4,800 requests for service. That year, CARS taught nearly 3,000 citizens how to perform CPR.

In 1978, the passenger train Southern Crescent derailed in Nelson County causing 6 deaths, 40 injuries and brought more than 15 rescue squads from the region. In September, Western Albemarle Rescue squad starts up after a bitter battle with CARS. CARS ran a full page newspaper advertisement lambasting the Crozet-based squad saying that they "wanted to designate parts of the county where CARS would serve, they (WARS) want to take us (CARS) away from you". It took years before the two organizations would forget the past and start working together.

Until 1981, defibrillator manufacturers would not market a new device until it was sent to CARS for testing and field evaluation. (If we couldn't break it, it was deemed ready to be sold).

In 1982, our Berkmar substation opened as the result of the pending annexation suit between the City and the County. The cost of the building was $150,000. The land was donated by the County.

In 1983 we stopped the practice of sending 12-lead ECG's to UVA CCU for interpretation and patient care instructions. In the 90's, many systems are discovering that to be state-of-the-art in coronary care, you must spend a ton of money on equipment that allows this practice. For most of the late 70's and early 80's we did this, only to find that it did not make any difference in patient morbidity or mortality so we stopped the practice. While the equipment we used then was primitive by today's standard, we've "been there, done that".

In 1985, CARS formed an all-female EMT Competition team that is today still the only such team in the state. In 1987, they took 2nd place and in 1992, they took 3rd place, (out of 80 some teams!).

In 1986, 1988 & 1995 CARS won 1st place in the state in the VAVRS ALS competition.

In 1989, CARS was named the busiest volunteer rescue squad in the country by Firehouse Magazine.

In 1989, CARS was named EMS Agency of the Year by the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. That year saw us answer 7,560 requests for service.

In 1991, CARS was featured on the national TV show "Rescue 911". CARS rescued a victim who fell 80' off a cliff and lived to tell the story.

In 1993, CARS formed the first all-volunteer technical rescue team in the country. The team has gone on to perform several difficult rescues in this community and was featured in a national trade magazine in the spring.

In 1994, CARS won 1st place in the State VAVRS Rescue competition. That year saw our call volume climb to over 10,000 requests for service.

In 1995, CARS won 1st place in the State VAVRS ALS & Water Rescue competitions. We also were one of the first rescue squads in the country to start up their own web site on the Internet.

In 1997, CARS won 1st place in the State VAVRS ALS, Cot Race & Water Rescue competitions.

In 1998, CARS sent two members (John Burruss and Dayton Haugh) to Germany for one week to observe how paramedics in that country provide emergency services. That year, we also won 1st place in the State VAVRS Water Rescue competition.

In 2000, CARS started painting the ambulances in a new color scheme called "German Red". This new color scheme is actually a very bright flourscent orange and is designed to catch other driver's eyes. We are the 2nd departemnt in the country to use this new color. Also, CARS started up the area's first bicycle medic team and was featured on the cover of The Viginia Fire News Magazine.

In 2002, the NAEMSP awarded CARS the Rural EMS System of the Year at their annual convention. This year we also started allowing 4 UVA student-members to live in our Berkmar sub-station in exchange for manning an ambulance there.

In 2004, CARS was once again named the busiest all-volunteer unit in the nation by Firehouse magazine. We upgraded our defibrillators to the new Phillips MRx 12-lead cardiac monito/defibrillators. Chsen by the manufacturer as the first rescue squad in the U.S. to use this device, CARS is able to provide the best possible care to patients who are experiencing cardiac problems or a heart attack. CARS won 1st place in the State VAVRS ALS and Rescue competitions. We also won Web Site of the Year Award.

In 2005, CARS joinned with Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue to provide a unit for precepting their personnel. This allows for an additional medic unit to be staffed daily from Monday to Thursday.

In 2007, a study commissioned by the Mayor of Charlottesville found that CARS met and exceeded the NFPA recommendation for ALS response time. (9 minutes on scene from time of dispatch 90% of the time).