Founders Vision Overlook MVC
January 1st, 2012 - In the early morning hours of New Years Day a badly 
damaged vehicle was discovered at the base of the Founder’s Vision Overlook at Wintergreen Resort. This overlook is the single most photographed place at Wintergreen. The overlook was created when Wintergreen Drive was constructed in the 70s. The vehicle left Wintergreen Drive above the overlook, apparently rolled as it passed through the overlook, and then went over the edge, plummeting to the base. The change in elevation from the point on Wintergreen Drive to where the vehicle was discovered was nearly 100 feet.
The accident was reported by condo occupants approximately ¼ mile away who heard the crash, but didn’t know where it came from. After several minutes of searching by two Wintergreen Police Officers the crash was located. The vehicle was unoccupied. The seatbelt was found to be locked in its extended position, indicating it was being worn at the time of the crash. The fire/rescue crew was afraid that the occupant may have tried to walk away from the crash and collapsed in the woods, or that he may have been ejected. Flood lights, thermal image cameras, and extra manpower were brought in to search.
The search ended as the sun was coming up. It was the type of sunrise that made everyone stop for a moment and just daze. With the snow guns singing in the clear crisp air, it was truly spectacular. The Wintergreen Police Department was able to make contact with the driver’s parents whom confirmed they had spoken with their son, and he was uninjured.
There is little doubt if this young man wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, he would have been killed. Fortunately, this will be a significant learning moment in his life, which will go on. The accident remains under investigation by the Wintergreen Police Department. Charges have been filed.
Congratulations John Hurt
December 31st, 2011 - The staff and volunteers of both Wintergreen Fire and Wintergreen Rescue wish Captain John Hurt well as he begins his new career as a law enforcement officer for the City of Culpepper.
Over the last 10 years John has contributed much to the greater Wintergreen community. John left the private ambulance business to 
join us as a medic. At that time, there were only six medics on staff. As our department grew John moved into a leadership role ultimately serving as Captain, which meant he was directly responsible for all Fire Suppression and Life Safety activities every third day.
John is quick to take on projects and likes to teach others how to better perform their fire/rescue duties. We're 100% confident he will do well in Culpepper and we look forward to seeing him around often as a part-time employee.
Jason Pugh will be taking the helm of A-Shift. Jason has been with us for about five years and has significant experience as a volunteer firefighter in Scottsville where he has served as Battalion Chief and Captain. Nick Brown will be taking Jason's spot as Lieutenant of C-Shift. Nick has been with us for 2 years.
Two New "Life Members"
December 13th, 2011 - When something is super valuable we tend to say its "worth its' weight in gold." Now that gold is over $1,000 an ounce does the saying still hold? If you are speaking of a Life Member of the Wintergreen Volunteer Rescue Squad it surely does!
To become a Life Member a volunteer must exceed the minimum requirements for at least 7 years, be nominated by a peer, and obtain a super-majority vote of the active membership. The current monthly minimum is 36 hours, which adds up to 3,024 hours in seven years. That said, it should be noted that a few of the volunteers log over 1,000 hours each year. Collectively the volunteers save the community nearly $200,000 each year.
More important than the financial savings, the volunteers ground the organization to the community which it serves. Most of the volunteers are full-time residents of Wintergreen. A few are part-time residents, and there are a few from nearby areas of the County. These volunteers give up their time, and in some cases risk their safety to help their neighbors.
This year the membership named David Orphan and Richard "Skip" Rice as Life Members. Both gentlemen have served multiple years on the Board of Directors. In fact, Skip was just elected to serve as the 2012 President.
Although the Rescue Squad was originally formed in 1974, it was reorganized and newly chartered in 1996. Since then, only 12 members have been named as Life Members. They include;
Frank Ott
Jack Daly
Joe Steele
Ron Duddleston
Judy Meincke
Dick Gilliland
Brian O'Rourke
David Croll
David Orphan
Steve Siragusa
Ross Hasson
Ron Turnbull
Skip Rice
Only one member, Steve Siragusa has actively pulled his duty shifts for the entire 15 years.
Some volunteers find ways to donate time in addition to time spent on call. The truest example would be Ross Hasson. Ross has for many years been the man behind the computer for the Rescue Squad Fund Drive. He has also served several terms as our Treasurer. I recently watched a failed CEO testify to Congress that he "honesty didn't know where the billions of dollars went." The first thought that came to my mind was he obviously didn't have Ross as his Treasurer!
All of the men and women who volunteer for the Rescue Squad and/or the Fire Department certainly have my respect. I hope they have yours too, and I especially hope you let them know.
Tough Mudder 2011
October 23rd, 2011 - The "Toughest Event on the Planet" comes to 
Wintergreen. Wintergreen recently hosted the largest special event ever in its nearly 40 year history. Largest by far. Nearly 20,000 runners and an additional 10,000 spectators and support crews were on the mountain for two days of very rigorous obstacle running. The course was approximately 10 miles long and climbed nearly 5,000 feet by continuously finding its way to the very bottom of our ski area. 27 obstacles were placed throughout the course to test the mental and physical toughness of the participants. A fleet of 70 busses were used to shuttle participants from off-site parking in the valley (5,000+/- cars) to the event village on the mountain.
To check out the official video for the event, click here.
One of the major obstacles was "Fire Walker" where the runners had to run between two walls of fire. Obviously this was concerning for Wintergreen and therefore the Fire Department took responsibility for the obstacle. Over 1,200 bales of straw were burned in a very controlled environment while firefighters stood by "on air" ready to help 
participants through the smoke if needed. Wilson Fire Department played a huge part in our success at this station.
The Wintergreen Ski Patrol provided on course medical treatment each day using nearly 50 providers. The Wintergreen Rescue Squad managed transportation from the course back to a central treatment area where Ski Patrol continued to care for the patients. Five specialized UTVs were used and 141 patients were transported. Over 200 miles were logged on the Wintergreen Fire & Rescue UTV alone. 29 patients were transported via ambulance to Augusta Hospital.
Technical Rescue at "The Plunge"
October 21st, 2011 - Timing is everything.
Wintergreen Resort has miles and miles of trails within its 11,000 acres. These trails run the full spectrum from super easy to incredibly difficult.
On the Friday before the recent Tough Mudder special event, as rescue crews were putting the finishing touches on preparations, a call was dispatched for an injured hiker in an area referred to as "The Plunge" off of Blackrock Drive.
A husband and wife were hiking along a rock outcrop and the wife ended up with a fracture to her right fibula. They had just enough cell signal to get their 911 call out. The dispatcher was able to catch where they had parked their car and that a person was injured. Attempts to reconnect with them weren't successful.
After about 30 minutes spent locating the patient and an access route, an additional hour or so was invested in a "low angle rescue" using a stokes basket with a safety-line and tons of help. Fortunately, a few Ski Patrol members were close by to assist with the hike out.
On this particular weekend all thoughts were geared towards our huge special event. A technical rescue which would consume tons of man-hours was certainly nowhere in the plans. It was a friendly reminder of just how unpredictable emergency management can be.
VAVRS Convention - 2011
September 26th 2011 - Wintergreen Rescue Squad recently attended the 77th annual VAVRS Convention at Virginia Beach. This event provides many opportunities for continuing education and competitive training scenarios for Rescue Squads all over Virginia. Some of the competitions offered are Advanced Life Support, Basic Life Support, Rope Rescue, Dive Rescue, Extrication, and Emergency Vehicle Operations. There were also many special awards that could be submitted as well. In past years, Wintergreen Rescue Squad has only competed in the Rope Rescue contest. This year we decided that we would compete in every contest possible. We used only seven members to compete in all the events, something which is relatively unheard of.
Our competition standings:
Rescue Contest (Rope Rescue) – 4th place.
Emergency Vehicle Operations - 8th place.
Extrication Contest – 2nd place. (We lost a tie-breaker by answering a question incorrectly)
Advanced Life Support Contest – 7th place.
Basic Life Support Contest - 9th place.
The team members involved in these competitions were Nick Brown, Jeremiah Fish, Robin Root, Tom Souter, Deryk Botkin, Robbie Hubbard, and Mike Riddle. The preparation for this event is very intense and all participants put in countless hours of hard work and training for the past several months. Our primary goal is not to win, but to make us stronger providers at home. We feel we have once again accomplished that mission. Please check back often, we will be posting pictures of most of the competitions we competed in soon.
All Wintergreen contestants sincerely appreciate the support shown by the Rescue Squad Board of Directors as well as the Wintergreen Property Owners Association.
Crawfords Climb House Fire
August 17th, 2011 - For the third time in about a year, the Wintergreen 
Fire Department battled a multi-alarm structure fire on Wintergreen property. This fire was different in a couple of ways. First, the large home was located in a section of the development which is very steep and has no pressurized fire hydrants. Second, and most importantly, this fire was dispatched at a time when the entire Wintergreen Fire staff were completing a training meeting! This has never happened before. Approximately 20 firefighters piled into 7 pieces of apparatus to immediately respond to the blaze.
Upon arrival, heavy fire and smoke were present in the home, and a vehicle was fully involved in the driveway, one was partially involved on the interior, and a third was also threatened on the interior. The residents and pet were exiting the structure. Three engines, a tanker, 900' of supply line, and a portable tank were used to establish a constant water flow. The first engine company went to the house for the initial attack and the second engine company attached to the water vault (installed by homeowner) for water supply. A total of 12,000 gallons of water was used to fight the fire during a 90 minute battle.
Units on scene from Wintergreen were Engine Company 1, Engine Company 3, Tanker 7, Medic 175, Medic 179, Response 180, Response 9, Chief 1, and Chief 3.
Timber Camp Drive House Fire
April 17th, 2011 - At approximately 00:45 Wintergreen Fire and Rescue 
was dispatched for a fire on the rear deck of a house with an unknown address on Timber Camp Drive in the Mountain Village of Wintergreen. Some neighbors of the house had stated that they had seen some flames on the back deck of this residence. They did not think the residence was occupied. When the first unit marked on scene they reported there was fire on all three floors in the rear of the residence with heavy smoke showing. The scene was upgraded to a working incident and additional companies were added to the assignment. A water supply was established immediately and the fire was knocked down from the exterior thru the rear of the house. After additional Wintergreen units arrived on scene 
entry was made into the main and upper levels of the structure with additional fire extinguished in the main floor and the roof area. There were multiple areas of extension and all were extinguished.
Wintergreen Fire and Rescue would like to thank the surrounding agencies for their help during this indicent. Units on scene were Wintergreen Chief 1, Chief 2, Engine 1, Engine 2, Truck 1, Squad 1, Medic 177, and Response 174. Other companies on scene were Wilson Fire Department and Rockfish Fire Department. Thanks to Faber Fire, Lovingston Fire and Rockfish Rescue with one ALS unit for filling quarters at Wintergreen Station 2. Thankfully no injuries were reported during this indicent.
Is Your Number Up?
January 1st 2011 - The 911 address signage is inconsistent and often 
times difficult to read, especially at night. All signage at Wintergreen must be approved by the WPOA Executive Director. Until now, the only approved 911 signs were those assigned by the County, which are somewhat small and non-reflective. A new and improved sign has been approved. These signs include 3” reflective white letters on a brown reflective background. This sign was chosen to match our existing street signs. Please refer to the image to the left as an example of the sign.
If you are posting your numbers on a mailbox, two signs will be required (One for each side). If you are posting on a plaque, such as those found on the mountain, only one sign will be needed. The signs are $15 each and will be installed free of charge, as long as no post is required.
If you are interested in purchasing an address sign(s), please click this Address Sign link for more information. You may also contact us for more information.
A list will be established of those persons desiring the sign upgrades, and once per quarter, Fire & Rescue staff will complete installations.
