Whether your passion lies in the medical portion of our work or the technical rescue field, you can fulfill your desire to help through us. We will cover all of your EMS and Rescue classes, and in return, you volunteer for us when you can by running calls, coming to meetings, and assisting with events. Submit your application today!
[BENEFITS TO JOINING]
All classes, trainings, and certifications and their expenses are completed coverd by the squad
Apparel and equipment are provided for free
Training provided that can help you in your emergency services career
Free Continuing Education access for your MR, EMT, AEMT, or Paramedic certification
We bridge your barriers to being able to volunteer. Talk to us about concerns with child care, education level, income loss, and more.
You'll start off getting some prerequisite classes. These include:
Hazardous Materials Operations (HAZMAT Ops)
Traffic Incident Management System (TIMS)
Emergency Vehicle Driver (EVD)
Medical requirement (this is either a very basic emergency medical care course or an EMS credential like EMT)
Introduction to Technical Rescue Course
After these, you work on becoming a Rescuer (TR). Each TR certification has 3 levels in order to be fully certified:
Awareness. You can safely operate alongside rescue operations and assist with certain tasks.
Operations. You can execute and complete tasks using advanced skills with minimal supervision.
Technician. You understand why the rescue system works, and can therefore design and execute the entirety of the rescue operation.
You have two pathways to start with:
Ropes. Rope rescue is the basis for almost all rescues we carry out. This includes mechanical advantage systems, stokes baskets, ascending/descending on rope, and more. Once you become a Rope Technician TR, you can then specialize in water (swift and still), confined space, trench, and structural collapse.
Common Passenger Vehicle. The most common rescue, this TR certification gives you the skills need for vehicle extrications and rescues carried out on sever motor vehicle accidents (or "car wrecks"). After obtaining your Common Passenger Vehicle TR, you can further specialize in Heavy Vehicle Rescue.
Additional specialties include Wilderness Rescue and Machinery & Agriculture Rescue.
There are a few prerequisites to satisfy before starting your EMS career. These include:
Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS)
Emergency Vehicle Driver (EVD)
Pass a college placement test
Starting the class requires you to make a choice between two starting points:
Emergency Medical Responder (EMR). This is a slightly shorter course, taking about 4 months to complete with no clinical ride-alongs. It's extremely basic, providing the bare minimum training for life saving interventions. This certification is recommended for volunteers with limited time commitment or who have very limited interest in medical operations.
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Whenever possible, we always encourage volunteers to go this route. It requires 6 months of coursework and 48 hours of ride-along clinicals. EMTs can function as the primary provider for Basic Life Support (BLS) calls and can operate in the back of an ambulance during transport. With a slightly wider scope of medications, skills, and assessment, EMTs are extremely valuable assets to the community.
Once you pass the class, you will sit for a state exam. Upon successfully passing the state exam, you become a credentialled EMS provider!
What are the age qualifications?
We accept applications for those age 14 and up, though most training won't be allowed until you are at least 16. There is no maximum age limit so long as you are dedicated and willing to help!
What is the application process?
Begin by filling out the membership application below. From there, an officer with the rescue squad will reach out to you as soon as possible (this can take 1-2 weeks). You'll be called, texted, or emailed to come tour the squad and get to ask questions. Once we know you're still interested after the tour, we'll schedule a formal interview and perform a background check (limited for junior rescuers). If all goes well, you'll be called in for 1.5 to 3 hours of onboarding. Following that, you're officially a rescuer!
What experience, training, and education do I need?
To start with, you won't need any kind of experience, training, or education. If you are 18 or older, having a valid NC driver's license will be the only thing you will need to attend trainings and run calls. From the moment you start, we will work with you on starting a class schedule to help you get a EMS credential (EMT, AEMT, Paramedic), your Technical Rescuer (TR), and any other related classes you find interest in (specialties, command, debriefing, etc).
I'd like more information before I apply. Who can I contact?
You can submit general inquiries on our homepage, or you can email us at mountainpark@rescue83.org. You can also show up to one of our regular meetings: every Tuesday, from 7pm to 10pm. As a volunteer organization, our office is typically not occupied and most administrative work is done remotely, but you can try to give us a call at our office at (336)-874-7911.
I'm already in another department, squad, or agency. Can I still join?
As long as you can dedicate the time to a second agency and can make the weekly meetings, you are allowed to be a member of as many other organizations as you want.
What are the requirements once I join?
We have a volunteer-centered policy. There is a general expectation for you to give all that you can when you can, but there is not a minimum number of calls or training hours. (Note: certain state benefits require that you maintain 36 hours of training, which equals showing up to training at least once a month). Our agency runs about 300 calls a year, which means the burden of running calls isn't too extreme.