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Our community is blessed with several amazing public service organizations that go above and beyond to keep the residents of Smith Mountain Lake well looked after. One such organization is the Scruggs Volunteer Fire & Rescue. Station 10's roster includes a paramedic and several EMTs - the combination of which makes Scruggs's Advanced Life Saving Services (ALS) possible. This is a level of medical care that is rare to find amongst all-volunteer squads. A six-member Specialized Dive Team also calls Scruggs VF&R home and performs underwater crime scene investigation, search, and recovery missions.
Thanks to their fleet of state-of-the-art vehicles (which includes a fire engine, ladder truck, tanker, ambulance, and soon-to-be brush truck), they answer a wide variety of calls on any given day. You'll find these local first responders on the scene of fires, natural disasters, automobile accidents, medical emergencies, and more.
In addition to the day-in and day-out functions of the firehouse, Scruggs Volunteer Fire & Rescue places great emphasis on caring for the youth of our area. They do this, in part, through food, backpack, and school supply drives that benefit the students of Dudley Elementary School. The firefighters also devote their time to fire safety education and awareness with the aid of the Training Smoke House Trailer. This replica of a typical home helps children learn what to do should they (heaven forbid) ever find themselves in a fire.
A favorite event the volunteers host every June as a big “thank you” to the community, is their Chicken BBQ. It is a way for the squad to communicate their gratitude for the generous support of area residents. Because of that support, the station is able to remain well-supplied with essential life-saving equipment.
Next month, they will be hosting a fundraiser in the form of the SML Steel Drum Band's Christmas Concert! It is scheduled for December 16th from 3-5pm at the station (2130 Bluewater Dr., Moneta). Tickets may be purchased at the door.
If you have an interest in becoming involved with the fire department, there are so many opportunities to be had! Besides EMTs, paramedics, drivers, divers, and other emergency personnel, they are always looking for volunteers to help out with the logistics of events like the food drive, Chicken BBQ, and various fundraisers. The perfect way to chat with volunteers and find out what Scruggs VF&R has coming down the pike is to attend one of their monthly meetings. They're held every fourth Wednesday at 7:30pm and are open to the public.
As Assistant Chief Perkins says (who, by the way, attended the fire academy at age 64!), one of the very simplest and most profound ways that ANYONE can support fire and rescue workers is to pull over and come to a complete stop whenever you hear a siren approaching on the motorway. Making the emergency vehicle's path to a call safer and more expedient is not only the law of Virginia but can mean the difference between life and death. In these scenarios, more often than not, every second counts.
A huge thank you to all the men and women of Scruggs Volunteer Fire & Rescue who dedicate so many hours, often risking their own lives, to keep our hometown safe!