By Maveric Vu
EMS1 News Editor
 Courtesy photo Texas firefighters help themselves to snacks and drinks during an informal rehab at a structure fire in Caldwell County, Texas. |
AUSTIN, Texas — A grass fire that burned nearly 2,100 acres of land in Williamson County, Texas, in August 2008 tested the limits of nearly a dozen surrounding fire departments.
However, they had some support while out on the field. Members from a volunteer emergency group provided hydration, snacks, CPR support and a cool place for responders to rest at the scene.
The not-for-profit Volunteer Mobile Emergency Response Unit, based in rural central Texas, provides basic rehab for local departments in hopes of minimizing injury and line-of-duty deaths.
“The primary mission is emergency scene rehab,” VMERU training officer Bill Degnan said. “We are trying to teach about NFPA standards and evangelize the benefits of taking care of our troops.”
The 2007 revision of NFPA 1584, now titled Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises (ISFSI), made firefighter rehabilitation a requirement -- rather than just a recommendation -- and mandates compliance with all fire departments.
VMERU has a partnership with several of the local fire departments across six counties around Austin, Texas. If a fire occurs, the incident commander can call VMERU for services.
VMERU use a fully stocked travel trailer equipped with drinking water, sports drinks, light snacks, a shower, a bathroom, a satellite TV, and an “EMS toolkit” that contains various medical supplies. Most VMERU members are CPR trained and one is an EMT.
“I’m just trying to inspire people,” VMERU director Sherry Lassiter said. “Whatever they ask, if we’re capable, we don’t mind helping them.”
Lassiter, a former volunteer EMT/firefighter, started the unit in 2006 after she felt compelled to give back to the smaller departments that had limited resources.
She began collecting money outside of Wal-Mart and outreaching to the local community. Pooling together the donated funds with money she received from selling an older vehicle, Lassiter was able to purchase a travel trailer.
Lassiter said that she initially encountered some opposition from established fire departments who had jurisdiction in the area
“We have the training, but we’re not there to be a first responder; we’re not there to take the job away from them,” she said.
However, a majority of the fire chiefs welcomed and appreciated the support, Lassiter said.
From there, she enlisted the help of other volunteers who were interested in helping the responder community. The unit averages four to five members, with a high of eight.
“It’s hard enough to find volunteer firefighters and it seems harder still to find people to do support services,” Degnan said. “It doesn’t have quite the glamour that being a firefighter does, but somebody has to do the less glamorous things.”
VMERU’s operating costs rely on community donations and the generosity of other organizations, such as the local American Red Cross. They are unable to attain 501(c)(3) non-profit status because the unit is too small, according to Lassiter.
VMERU is also a participating organization with the central Texas division of the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, a national non-profit group that focuses on connecting and coordinating incident response groups.
“We link them up with other groups that can help,” said VOAD president Toni Silver, who is also a Red Cross volunteer. “[VMERU] lends support for firemen during local fires and EMS people as well. I think being part of VOAD better makes them to serve.”
Lassiter was recently appointed as the educational chair for VOAD and will work on spearheading educational outreach opportunities within the community.
Characterized as a small operation, Lassiter said that she would like to see the unit grow in order to be able to serve a larger area.
“I had dreamed that someday I’d be able to be at the top of my game, where I could provide service to every person that needed it, but who couldn’t get it,” she said.
Despite facing financial and staffing limitations, VMERU continues to give back to the community beyond providing rehab. After Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston, Texas, in August 2008, VMERU members brought supplies and gear to the overworked EMS departments in the area.
 Courtesy photo Sherry Lassiter, left, and paramedic Kathy Kirkpatrick check out “firefighter” T-shirts brought by Operation Sandy Claus. |
Called “Operation Sandy Claus,” the low budget operation provided meals and goodies to EMS providers affected by the hurricane.
“These were people who had personal lives that they were trying to rebuild in between their shifts,” Degnan said. “We thought maybe we could do something about it.”
Operation Sandy Claus was able to collect more than 30 boxes of food, toys and other materials for EMS providers and their families.
Degnan said the operation tried to focus only on EMS providers, since other public safety departments had better, established support systems.
“It was all about them,” Degnan said. “We tried to let them know that somebody out there cares about them.”
While VMERU is a modest operation, Lassiter and Degnan said they hope to get more people involved and to be better equipped to serve central Texas.
“We’re not a big operation,” Degnan said. “We just do a job for those who are willing to let us do it.”
For more information about Volunteer Mobile Emergency Response Unit, visit http://www.rehabsector.org/.