Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 | By Eric Kambach

(A Warrenton resident complained to the Fauquier Board of Supervisors that rescue crews took too long to arrive for his brother who suffered a heart attack.)

His brother’s heart attack provided a first-hand illustration for Beau Beasley of the need for additional fire and rescue personnel in Fauquier County.

The Warrenton man’s account of the nearly half-hour wait for a rescue crew comes as the Fauquier County Fire and Rescue Department is seeking funding for additional emergency response staffing around the county.

Beasley, a firefighter/medic with nearly 28 years’ experience with Fairfax Fire and Rescue, appeared before the board of supervisors at a public hearing to describe his personal experience and to demand something be done to provide more 24-hour staff.

“I think the folks in Scott District would be shocked,” the Warrenton resident said.

“I think they would be shocked to know that they have about an even chance of getting a paramedic to their home, at night, in the same amount of time it takes to get a pizza delivered to their home,” he said.

Beasley’s 42 year-old brother, who lives in Vint Hill within five miles of New Baltimore Fire and Rescue Company, suffered a heart attack.

Eight minutes after his wife dialed 911, a volunteer EMT arrived.

“All he had was a pair of gloves and a portable radio,” Beasley said. “And we waited, and we waited, and we waited. It took 26 minutes for the ambulance to show up.”

As they waited, Beasley’s brother’s heart rate rapidly increased to the lethal rate of 193 beats per minute, well beyond the normal rate of 60-80 beats, and once on the ambulance, Beasley himself administered an IV through his brother’s foot, and gave him a drug to help slow his heartbeat.

“The damage his heart suffered,” Beasley said, “was a direct result of how long it took from the time he dialed to the time he got the drug.”

But this wasn’t the first time that Beasley faced frustration with the department’s performance.

On a few occasions, his young daughter has had to endure severe respiratory distress from asthma attacks, where she “could not speak more than two words without taking a breathe,” and had to wait 15 minutes for an ambulance.

Currently, Fauquier County has only three paramedic units after 7 p.m. for the entire county, meaning that location becomes crucial in a life-threatening emergency.

The county also employs 41 firefighters/medics that accompany a heavily relied upon corps of volunteers.

Lee District Supervisor Chester Stribling, a volunteer firefighter himself, continues to encourage more volunteers to step forward.
But Beasley knows that that’s not going to help.

“I appreciate Supervisor Stribling’s position on the issue,” he said, “and I appreciate his dedication to being a volunteer firefighter himself. But the answer is paid staff adequately trained to provide advanced life support and given the tools to do the critical job of saving lives.

“They have been asking for funded positions for years,” he said. “Perhaps if the right person dies, it will get someone’s attention. I just pray to God that it’s not one of my family members.”

An analysis, compiled by the county’s Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association in late January, called for 22 more full-time staff positions, including 24-hour staff, at an annual cost of more than $1.5 million.

A modification of that analysis was presented to the safety committee by county Chief Thomas Billington on Tuesday, which recommended the same 22 additional positions at a lower cost

The proposed budget for fiscal 2013 will be deliberated by the supervisors through March.

(Article published in Fauquier Times-Democrat)