Squad responded to 46 calls

SALISBURY — The Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service (SVAS) is an all-volunteer organization whose members are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to emergencies in the community. SVAS responded to 46 calls in October, which is considerably more than the average. These included eight calls for a sick person and eight calls for a fall, five motor vehicle accidents, five calls for difficulty breathing, four calls for pain, one seizure, one stroke, one traumatic injury and one psych call. A search and rescue call was canceled. Eight calls were to assist Lakeville Hose Co. Most of those calls were for activated fire alarms and CO detectors. Three of the calls resulted in refusals to transport. Fifteen of the calls were for residents of Noble Horizons. In addition during the weekend of the snowstorm that started Oct. 29, 12 wellness checks were done by squad members. These were not dispatched by Litchfield County Dispatch.There were eight days when the ambulance crew was dispatched two times, five days when the crew was dispatched three times, and one day in which SVAS responded five times.SVAS held their Fall Festival pancake breakfast on Sunday, Oct. 9. 407 people were served between the hours of 7:30 and 11:30 a.m. The squad was very active during the snowstorm of Oct. 29 and during its aftermath. SVAS headquarters was kept open as a warming station for four days. Several squad members manned the overnight shelter accommodations at Salisbury Central School. Squad members also assisted in serving the free dinners that were offered to the community at Lakeville Hose Co. headquarters on the nights of Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. This monthly column by Lakeville Journal copy editor and ambulance squad volunteer Tara Kelly is an update on EMS activities.