Crabtree Falls Rescue
August 23rd 2010 - Wintergreen Rescue was called to assist Montebello 
Rescue with an injured hiker who had fallen on the "upper falls" of Crabtree Falls. Crabtree Falls is the highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River. Montebello Rescue and Wintergreen Rescue train together for these types of events. Two team members from Montebello were first on the scene. They quickly rappelled to the victim, confirmed that the event would be a body recovery, and requested equipment for a vertical extrication. Four members of the Wintergreen team and two additional members from Montebello were sent with equipment down the 1.5 mile-long trail to the top of the falls. The victim was raised approximately 100 feet and then transported back up the trail to the Crabtree Meadows parking area where Wintergreen Squad 1 was serving as a command post and an ambulance from Roseland Rescue was waiting to transport the victim. Montebello provided a stand-by ambulance for the rescue workers as well as a 4x4 brush unit to transport equipment. Click here to see more photos of the event.
The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation and provided three investigators for on-scene operations. The National Park Service also provided one Ranger.
The victim was 61 years old and from the Richmond area. He frequented the falls and was familiar with the terrain.
Annual Fund Drive Update
August 11th 2010 - Each year, both the Fire Department and the Rescue 
Squad conduct a fund drive which primarily supports capital equipment acquisition. Each drive includes three mailings and lasts a full year. The Fire Department kicks off their drive in March and the Rescue Squad begins in August. To see additional photos of the kickoff mailing for the Rescue Squad, click here.
Historically, both drives do quite well. Of course, there has of course been a drop in contributions in recent years, which was to be expected. The goal of both departments focuses more on donors than it does on dollars. Every property owner at Wintergreen, or in the surrounding area benefits from the Fire Department and Rescue Squad whether they actually use the services or not. Over 1,000 donors contribute annually, and all are greatly appreciated.
The goal for the Rescue Squad drive which just launched is $118,000.
Remote Area Medical Health Fair - Wise County
July 28th 2010 - Recently, the Wintergreen Rescue Squad was requested 
to deploy with the Thomas Jefferson EMS Council Task Force 2 to support the University of Virginia Hospital as they provided free health care in Wise County, Virginia. This annual event is sponsored by Remote Area Medicine, an international non-profit organization. This was the eleventh year for the event, and patient numbers have increased to a point where many resources are needed to handle the load. Thus, the regional team was activated. Although Wintergreen has been a member of the team for ten years, this is only the third deployment in which we have participated. Wintergreen provided one medic and one ambulance for the five-day deployment. Task Force Members were responsible for emergency care of patients who deteriorated while at the fairgrounds. Transports within the complex were handled with a John Deere Gator provided by the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad. To learn more about Remote Area Medical and this event, click here. Click here to see more pictures.
Blue Chickory Two-Alarm House Fire
July 5th 2010 - At 04:51, the Wintergreen Fire Department was 
dispatched for a residential fire alarm. Upon arrival at 04:56, the home was found to be fully involved. The residents were at home at the time of the fire and escaped from their ground level bedroom. The value of the real and personal property loss is approximately $800,000.
This fire occurred adjacent to the number 1 green of the Shamokin Golf Course. The home was constructed of cedar siding, had a cedar shake roof, and was surrounded by relatively thick vegetation. Wintergreen’s Operations Chief reported seeing a column of flames from over 5 miles away when he was responding. Once it was confirmed that all residents had escaped, the primary concern was making sure the fire didn’t spread throughout Cedar Meadows, which is one of the highest risk areas within the Wintergreen Master Plan. A bulldozer was requested from the Virginia Department of Forestry to plow a line around the home if the fire began to spread. The dozer arrived on scene, but was not used.
There were no injuries reported to the residents or the firefighters. Although still standing, the home is unfortunately a total loss. Wintergreen Fire provided 11 firefighters, 2 Engines, 1 Ladder Truck, 1 Brush Truck, one Heavy Squad, and one Operations Chief. Rockfish Fire provided 10 firefighters and medics. Rockfish Rescue provided a stand-by Ambulance and medical/rehab team. Additionally, a Tanker and Engine 
were provided by Rockfish. Faber Fire Department provided six firefighters, one Engine, one Tanker, and a Brush Truck. Lovingston Fire Department provided four firefighters and one Engine. Stuarts Draft Fire Department (Augusta County) filled quarters at Wintergreen Station One on the mountain and responded to a fire alarm call on Hickory Springs Drive while the Blue Chickory fire call was in progress. Wintergreen Property Owners Association crews assisted with hose and equipment clean-up. Click here to see more pictures of this incident.
RMH Moves to New Hospital
June 22nd 2010 - On Tuesday, June 22, 2010, the Wintergreen Rescue 
Squad participated in the Rockingham Memorial Hospital Move. The crew consisted of Jared McNeal, NREMT-P and Eric Anhold, EMT-E. The day started at 04:30 am as the crew arrived at the staging area located at the “M” Lot on JMU property. After a brief meeting in the cafeteria of the old facility at 235 Cantrell Ave, the operations of this busy day began. All ambulance crews reported to their units to await their first assignments of the day. The goal was to relocate nearly 100 patients from the old facility to the new facility located at 2010 Health Campus Drive in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
There were 15 Advanced Life Support ambulances and 12 Basic Life Support Ambulances in the staging area. Utilizing the Regional Radio Cache, all participating personnel not operating within the local communications system were issued their own portable radio for the day in order to have communications and receive their assignments.
With the temperatures steadily climbing, the ambulance crews were anxious to get started. At 06:45 am, the first patient was moved to the new facility. The move was well coordinated and from our end seemed to run very smoothly. After about six and half hours, all patients were relocated. This included a few unplanned Emergency Department to Emergency Department transfers.
The main challenge for the day seemed to be the weather. By noon, the 
heat was definitely starting to become a problem. At one point the temperatures on the asphalt had reached around 112 degrees F. Apparatus sitting still for too long had to shut down or open their hoods to prevent overheating.
In the end, it was a long, hot, but interesting day. The Wintergreen crew was afforded the opportunity to lend mutual aid assistance and in the process, experience a large scale event that overcame some interoperability challenges. These same challenges would be an issue at a large scale Wintergreen emergency. We welcome any opportunity to practice so that we may be better prepared.
CPR and First Aid Training
June 9th 2010 - Wintergreen Fire and Rescue thanks the 
employees of Wintergreen Partners Incorporated (Wintergreen Resort) for attending the CPR and First Aid Training that took place at the Tree House just behind the Mountain Inn on June 3rd and 9th. These 14 people gave up two days to learn skills that will last a lifetime. The instructors for this class were Jared McNeal, Assistant Chief of EMS Operations, John Robles, Training Coordinator, and Deryk Botkin, Firefighter/Medic. Click here to see more pictures of this class. If you would like more information on getting certified in CPR or First Aid please contact John Robles at (540) 910-1586.
Practice Makes Perfect
May 25th 2010 - Always looking for improvement, members of the 
Wintergreen Fire and Rescue Technical Rescue Team assembled at Rock Point overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway Wednesday morning to replicate the events of the recent shooting there. This time, there was no pressure from the idea of a shooter on the loose or a critical patient. The focus was on safety and expediency. Each month, members of the team come together to practice a different scenario. This month's scenario was all too real for members who were there on that fateful night. If you would like to see more photos click here. Also, take a moment to read the article published by Nelson County Life.
Route 151 Nellysford MVC
April 20th 2010 - Wintergreen Fire and Rescue was dispatched for an 
MVC with multiple vehicles one mile north of Nellysford. Wintergreen Engine 1, Medic 177, Squad 1, Chief 1, and Medic 178 responded to the incident. Engine 1 marked on scene reporting two vehicles head-on along with two other vehicles off the road also involved. Command on scene also reported two patients lying on the road and one still remaining in the vehicle. Two patients were transported by ambulance, one by personal vehicle, and one was air lifted. All patients were transported to University of Virginia Medical Center. Other units on scene were Wintergreen Engine 3, Wintergreen 29-Crew Medic 128, Rockfish Medic 57, and Engine 51. Law enforcement units on scene were Virginia State Police, Nelson County Sheriff and Wintergreen Police. Click here to see photos of this incident.
Rockpoint Overlook Double Shooting
April 5th 2010 - On the evening of April 5th, Wintergreen Fire and 
Rescue responded to a double shooting on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 10. Details regarding this call are abundantly available via the media. Since this is an ongoing investigation, this log entry will speak only to the rescue efforts.
The first patient, a female had been relocated via a good samaritan to the Afton Chevron station where she was treated by the Waynesboro First Aid Crew and transported by ground to UVA. The second patient, after being shot, fell over the edge of an approximate 150' embankment/cliff. The patient came to rest in very thick woods where the ground cover was essentially loose boulders. The Waynesboro First Aid Crew sent in a "hasty team" from the North end and Wintergreen Rescue hiked in with removal and care equipment from the South end. With assistance from law enforcement personnel, and the AirCare 5 flight crew, the patient was secured in a basket and hiked out on the North end of the scene. Ropes were used to assist 
with the removal. This patient was transported to the Reeds Gap Overlook at milepost 13 where he was transferred to AirCare 5 and subsequently flown to University of Virginia Hospital.
A third patient, a Virginia State Trooper, was treated at the scene for minor injuries sustained while accessing the patient. A fourth patient was discovered by law enforcement at the Ravens Roost Overlook upon conducting their perimeter investigation. This patient was not connected in any way to the shooting scene, however was transported by Wintergreen Rescue to Augusta Health.
Worthy of note for this incident - the shooter remained at large throughout the entire event, making rescue operations tenuous. The accountability process showed 41 emergency vehicles at the event, 29 of which were law enforcement. The event began around 8:00PM and 
the last Wintergreen unit cleared the scene at approximately 2:00AM. If you would like to see more pictures of this incident, click here.
Wintergreen units on scene were Heavy Rescue-Squad 1, Medic Unit 179, Medic Unit 178, Engine 2, Chief 1, Chief 2, and Chief 3. Waynesboro units on scene were Heavy Rescue-Squad 2, Two Medic Units, and Deputy Chief. Helicopters on scene were AirCare 5 and State Police. Law enforcement on scene consisted of Department of Interior Park Rangers, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Division (ATF), Virginia State Police, Wintergreen Police, Augusta County Sheriff's Office, Nelson County Sheriff's Office, Waynesboro Police Department (K-9), and Staunton Police Department.
