+ DONATE • FREE CPR/STB • RIDE WITH US • JOIN US History It all began one day when a woman was struck by a car on Atlantic Avenue… One cold December afternoon in 1951, a local woman was struck by a car near the corner of 24th Street and Atlantic Avenue. Attorney J. Peter Holland III found himself at the scene and called for an ambulance. Unfortunately, the Fire Department’s ambulance was disabled and couldn’t help. With nowhere to turn, Holland called the nearby Fort Story Army installation, but the dispensary was hesitant to send help since the person injured was not in the military. Holland persisted, and nearly an hour after his initial call, an ambulance from Fort Story responded to take the woman to Virginia Beach General Hospital, just three blocks away. Mr. Holland, thoroughly unsatisfied, rounded up some friends and discussed the urgent need for an active volunteer ambulance service in Virginia Beach. On May 1, 1952, the Princess Anne-Virginia Beach Rescue Squad, Inc. began operations with twenty-two charter members and one associate. It was the beginning of the long, proud history of the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad. Read the rest of our history, through the decades below. The members of the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad have worn distinctive white uniforms since 1952. VBVRS in the 1950s In the early 1950s, “the village,” as most residents called Virginia Beach, was a sleepy little resort stretching from Rudee Inlet to 49th Street. It had a population of just 10,000 and just about everyone knew everyone else. In the village, on a cold December afternoon in 1951, attorney J. Peter Holland III found himself at the scene of an accident. A local woman had been struck by a car near the corner of 24th Street and Atlantic Avenue. Holland called for an ambulance. But when he called, the Fire Department said its ambulance was disabled and unable to help. With nowhere to turn, Holland called the Fort Story Army installation. But the dispensary was hesitant to send assistance because the person injured was not in the military. Holland persisted, and nearly an hour after his initial call, an ambulance from Fort Story responded to take the woman to Virginia Beach General Hospital, just three blocks away. Peter Holland, thoroughly unsatisfied, rounded up some friends and discussed the urgent need for an active volunteer ambulance service in Virginia Beach. They paid a visit to the rescue squad in Fredericksburg, which had been operating successfully for several years. After days of meetings and much discussion, the group returned home with a vision and a plan — the nucleus for the proposed Princess Anne-Virginia Beach Rescue Squad. Now that plans for a rescue squad were formulated, much foundation work had to be done. Manpower, money, equipment, training, and a home for the new squad had to be obtained. The group sought and received $500 from the Virginia Beach City Council and the Princess Anne County Board of Supervisors. John Fitzgerald donated a laundry truck, which would be used as a salvage vehicle, and a small boat for water rescues was acquired. The disabled Cadillac ambulance, which started Holland and friends on this mission, was sold to the fledgling squad for $1, as were a trio of metal buildings on 20th Street and Pacific Avenue, belonging to Standard Oil Company. Two of the buildings were used as garages, while the third became a 10X18 foot “squad house,” complete with two home-built bunks, no insulation, an overhead gas heater suspended from the ceiling, and beaverboard walls. First, prospective members took the standard first aid course offered by the American Red Cross, then uniforms and equipment were purchased, and, finally on May 1, 1952 the Princess Anne-Virginia Beach Rescue Squad, Inc. began operations with twenty-two charter members and one associate. The squad’s first call on May 1st was for a drowning. A sailor either fell or jumped from the boardwalk. He was already dead when the rescue squad arrived — an inauspicious beginning for a rescue squad, which would later be known for its lifesaving efforts. VBVRS in the 1960s VBVRS in the 1970s VBVRS in the 1980s VBVRS in the 1990s VBVRS in the 2000s VBVRS Today in the 2010s Support The Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad. Every dollar counts. You can be the difference that allows us to have the life-saving equipment and supplies we need to answer every cry for help. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD Honor someone you know. Did you know that you can honor someone when you give us a donation? HONOR A LOVED ONE Learn CPR. Absolutely free. Did you know that 70% of all sudden cardiac arrests take place in the home? Now you know. Come learn what to do. REGISTER FOR FREE CPR Join us. We need you. Help us help others. And see what a difference it makes in your own life. Start the process by filling out the online application. MAKE A DIFFERENCE You like us. You really like us. Share how a VBVRS crew rescued you! Tell us your story and we’ll tell you ours, keeping you up to date with all that our crews are doing. LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE Read the latest squad news in our newsletter and stay in the know. SIGN UP AND KEEP UP HOME ABOUT THE SQUAD OUR DEDICATED MEMBERS HONOR GUARD LIFE MEMBERS & PAST CAPTAINS AWARDS AND HONORS EQUIPMENT & FACILITIES HISTORY FAQ'S CONTACT US SUPPORT US DONATE VOLUNTEER TRAINING RIDE-ALONG COMMUNITY PARTNERS STORIES RESOURCES FREE CPR CLASSES ONLINE RESOURCES HOLIDAY SAFETY HINTS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH EVENTS SQUAD EVENTS OYSTER ROAST FUND DRIVE © Virginia Beach Rescue Squad 2021. Maintained by VBVRS members. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Website by Red Chalk Studios.