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Welcome

 

 

 We are an combination agency of volunteer and career staff rescue squad providing EMS and rescue services to the City of Waynesboro and the eastern part of Augusta County. For over fifty-five years, we have served the citizens of Waynesboro and that loyalty to our community continues today. We currently respond to over 4,500 emergency calls annually, providing both Basic and Advanced Life Support to our primary response area including portions of I-64, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. WFAC also provides mutual aid response to surrounding localities. Please take the time to browse our website to learn more about your local volunteer rescue squad.

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WAYNESBORO -- After passing away a year and a half ago, one fallen Valley emergency responder is being honored at a

national event.

The Waynesboro First Aid Crew lost a hero in January 2012. Although he's gone, he's not forgotten. Timothy Kyle Southern was

killed in a car accident on his way to a call. Kyle was a emergency responder for Waynesboro. "He cared about everybody.

He always wanted to be everybody's friend. He never wanted to see anybody hurt or picked on or whatever. He always tried to

take somebody under his wing and help them," said Tim Southern, Kyle's father. Kyle will be honored Sunday by the

National EMS Memorial service. "To us it really makes us feel really good and heart warming to know that someone here in the

first aid crew or someone in the community nominated him for such a high honor," said Southern. Kyle's family received a check

from the Waynesboro First Aid Crew to pay for part of the trip to Colorado. "Not very many other organizations would give you

three or $400 towards a trip. So it really means something that they think enough of Kyle to give us that, to go on the trip,

" said Southern. Receiving the honor means a lot to the Waynesboro crew. Thomas Stevens was Kyle's friend for 14 years.

He said when Kyle died, it hit home. "For several weeks, it took us to actually realize he was gone. We talk about him all the time,

all the crazy things we've done here," said Stevens. Kyle's family knows he died doing what he loved. "He really enjoyed it.

He loved the winter time here with the first aid crew. He loved the bad storms. He loved being out and about with all the crew

people here," said Southern. Kyle's family will leave on Friday for the ceremony in Colorado Springs. His former co-workers

said, Kyle was very fun and loved telling jokes.

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WAYNESBORO, Va -- Volunteers with the Waynesboro First Aid Crew hear a bell and jump into action. Volunteer Greg Payne helped the crew win first place at a statewide rescue squad competition.

“We work well as a team, so no matter what was thrown at us, we knew we could get it accomplished,” said Payne.

Seven volunteers had 15 minutes to find injuries and to treat patients in an exercise.

The crew uses mannequins to learn what to do, but they also do drills on real people. That way, they can respond to EMTS about their situation.

Payne said the adrenaline helped them focus on their task.

“Even though you're working on a simulation or a dummy, it's just like working on a real person. You go in there and you know you have a job to do, and even though there's a mannequin laying there on the floor, you treat it like a real person.”

It is that training that Robbi Blackburn, another volunteer, said helps people know how to handle a real emergency.

“All of the practices that we go through, all of the district competitions that we go through, it makes it all worthwhile,” said Blackburn.

That worthwhile feeling of winning has the crew motivated until next year's competition.

“I just jumped for joy. Chairs were flying,” said Payne. “This is a top award that you want to win. The adrenaline and the joy and the team, all of us jumped.”

The Waynesboro First Aid Crew gets about 5,000 calls a year and they have about 75 volunteers.

They are eligible for an international competition next year because the crew won this award.

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