A lack of funding and volunteer levels dropping pressured the Cabarrus Rescue Squad's board of directors to cease the squad's operations on Tuesday.
Mike Pattee, president and chief for Cabarrus Rescue Squad, sent out a message to officials on Wednesday announcing the decision.
“After 55 years of service to Cabarrus County and surrounding areas, we unanimously voted to cease standard rescue squad operations immediately,” Pattee’s letter stated. “The decision was discussed over the last several months with help from the offices of the County Manager, County Emergency Manager, County Fire Marshall and Cabarrus County EMS director. Unfortunately, an adequate solution could not be obtained.”
The Cabarrus Rescue Squad formed in 1957 and was a volunteer organization that ran support for emergency services, such as Cabarrus County EMS. The squad ran 232 calls in 2011 alone, Pattee said Wednesday.
The group raised most of its funding on its own but received financial support from the Cabarrus County government. Last year, officials contributed $40,000 to the rescue squad’s budget, but with economic pressures, the county would not be able to provide the level of support it had given in the past.
“We tried to do everything we could between us,” Pattee said. “They were willing to give us funding.”
The reduction in county funding, as well as a drop in donations, was affecting the squad. Pattee said that in the past, fundraisers could generate $60,000 to support the squad. Recent fundraising efforts generated only about $20,000.
Volunteer levels have also been dropping over the years. At one point, the squad had 40 volunteers. It’s now down to about 16 volunteers, Pattee said.
Pattee had been a member of the squad for about 15 years before Tuesday’s vote.
“It was a real hard decision,” he said. “It was not easy. We hated to see it go.”
Although the group terminated its regular operations, the Central Piedmont Search and Rescue division will continue.
“Their leadership had already initiated the process to become their own non-profit organization,” Pattee’s letter stated. “Once that has been secured, they will split off and conduct business on their own. Until that time, they will continue to have access to the same equipment as before and will continue to respond to search incidents as needed.”
Pattee said the decision to disband the squad came before any calls to service could be affected.
“It was time to go out on top,” Pattee said. “Rather than drag ourselves through the mud.”
Organizations interested in Cabarrus Rescue Squad’s equipment can e-mail Mike Pattee at mike.pattee@cabarrusrescue.org and should include a brief justification for the items. Requests can also be mailed to Cabarrus Rescue Squad, ATTENTION: Equipment Requests, P.O. Box 3331, Concord, N.C. 28026-3331
Contact Michael Knox at mknox@independenttribune.com or 704-789-9133.
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