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Georgetown Volunteer Ambulance Service THE HERALD Wednesday MiUlH5 Page IS year years of good service Member Late In 19M the of funeral directors which had operated the ambulance service In Georgetown for aome yean informed the town council that since the operation was unprofitable It being discontinued meant that the community would be without coverage for ambulance emergencies and gave rise to a serious problem What arrangement could be made to ensure continued coverage At time a small number of citizens met and suggested that the service be continued by means of a voluntary company of driven and assistants was some thing of an experiment since very few communities had Wed this system and none of them In this area A general meeting was called In January 1907 at which elections were held and the necessary offices filled Volunteers were enlisted and from among them a roster was compiled so that there would be two people on duty at all times The concept was presented to the town council for approval There now remained the question of an am nuance quarters for it and a for receiving calls After considerable discussions In council a motion was approved to purchase for WOO the Chevrolet Am bulance which belonged to the C Funeral Home It to be kept In a garage on Cross Street near the former town hail and all calls for ambulance service were to be made to the fire hall where a current of duty men would be posted The service started with a complement of under Ralph as Chief Later In the year Ed Hall took over as Chief with Fred Hue and Jim Em merson as Captains The first call on March was to a highway vehicle accident at Silver Creek The experiment worked well In 1957 the fledgling service responded to calls and a newspaper headline proclaimed Town Ambulance Service Outstanding Success The addition of a fully equipped new International Travelall ambulance in June 1KB provided a standby vehicle which greatly Improved the service capabilities of The first annual donee held at the Georgetown Legion in December 1059 to be followed two yean later by the first annual picnic for members and their families These events have continued and are highlights of the year among GVAS social activities A long sought and much needed town financed in surahs I in June 191 thereby providing all men while on duty with full accident and sick benefit Insure ce In over in rf operation no serious injury to any member has occurred while on duty After much serious study a constitution was adopted In 1961 providing a guide to all matters of policy and dlsclDllne within Harold Gilmore was elected Chief in 1962 and In the same year the hopes of many members were fulfilled with anew combination ambulance garage ana administrative building These headquarters situated on Street went into operational use in July September 23 1983 was officially declared Ambulance Day In Georgetown and the building was officially presented to GVASonlbatdate This was one of the busiest days in the history of the service None of the distinguished guests present at the ceremonies saw on ambulance as both vehicles were handling calls from 30 in the morning until well past 9 at night Space was now available for vehicles and for meetings training sessions and so on giving GVAS its first official home 1963 also saw a lapel badge designed and presented to each active GVAS member Following the election of Dan Scarborough as Chief in 1963 embers of the service travelled to Ontario to advise some members of the community there on setting up a volunteer ambulance organization similar Later visits were exchanged with Bolton for the same purpose One significant development In was the in of twoway radios exclusively for ambulance use and the voice of the late Mrs Oliver the long time dispatcher for the police and fire service the time became familiar to the ambulance crews over the air wives In these an ambulance scene of an accident determine that there were Injuries and only then was the responded to calls In 1963 received some recognition in when Harry M for described In the House A 24hour efficient trained ambulance service The original 1951 Chevrolet ambulance purchased at the Inception of the service was replaced by a Cadillac vehicle purchased from war surplus in 1965 followed In 1967 by he purchase of a second Cadillac ambulance to replace the International vehicle The tenth anniversary of the service was celebrated In A change In top personnel occurred In 1968 when Ken Thomson took over as Chief from Dan Scarborough who In the same year received from the St John Ambulance Association a Priory Vote of Thanks presented by the GovernorGeneral elected In 1969 was Tom Massena A new vehicle added to the service in 1970 when a ministry of health Ford ambulance replaced the Cadillac purchased In 1965 The Ford ambulance was provided to as part of a ministry program to standardize am vehicles and equipment throughout the province In 1972 the St John Ambulance Association presented a Special Provincial Certificate to GVAS in recognition of service to the community to be followed In November 1973 by the Investiture of Chief Tom as Serving Brother of the Order of St John for his contribution to ambulance work The town of Georgetown ceased to exist on December with the onset of regional government Mayor Bill Smith attended the dinnerdance in December 1973 and presented certificates of thanks from the town of Georgetown to all members Georgetown Volunteer Ambulance Service continues of course and retains its name under regional government part of the town of Halton Hills A team from GVAS triumphed over the many full time ambulance services participating when they took first place in Ihe First Aid Competition run by the Ontario Ambulance Opera ton Association at Hamilton Ontario in July 1973 The team then proceeded to Omaha Nebraska and participated in the International Rescue and First Aid Association firstaid Compel lion for teams from all over North America Although the GVAS representatives did well they did not place among the winner From the inception of GVAS the volunteers had responded to ambulance calls wearing their own clothing which frequently became damaged or soiled In the course of duty in 1974 uniforms were Issued to members resulting In a more professional for the am crews To improve response time electronic alerting devices were supplied to each member These replaced the time consuming method of individual telephone calls to the duty crew from the dispatcher after he had recorded all the necessary Information from the individual calling the ambulance Now the dispatcher alerts the ambulance crews while he la still talking on the telephone to the caller and then relays the information to the crew at the am garage through the Red Phone a special direct line from the office to the enrage With the hope of further reducing response time distinctive automobile visor cords reading Ambulance Crew on Emergency were issued to members for use when travelling to the ambulance garage in response to a call The visor cards are simply a request to police and other members of the public that the members car not be obstructed memben must adhere to the High way Traffic Act In June 1974 the federal ministry of transport ran a course to officially qualify GVAS members for the Restricted Radio Operators certificate to ensure the proper use of radio while on the air A highly significant development among many in 1974 was the beginning of the course in Emergency Casualty Care This is the same training course which is mandatory or professional ambulance crews in the province Camp Borden full time for a month to qualify GVAS memben attended weekly classes In the evening with weekend practical work also required Course topics Included anatomy and physiology respiration and resuscitation toft tissue injuries Injuries to the skull brain neck and spine medical and environmental emergencies emergency childbirth and the operation of ambulance vehicles and emergency care equipment The course was coordinating and taught by Paul Stoner of the ministry of health ambulance services branch assisted by guest lecturers from the medical profession In addition to the above training member attended the first of a series of lectures on specialized medical topics related to ambulance work at Peel Memorial Hosnital Bramnton Another first rounded off 1974 a Children Christ mas Perry Tor members families proved to be a 100 children present Before attending the party Santa Cluas visited Georgetown Hospital and distributed gifts to the children there It is anticipated that this party will become an annual event The fast pace continued In 197S Bob Simpson was elected Chief at the annual general meeting In February A major revision to the constitution was approved by the membership at that meeting Early In 197S the finance committee of he Town of Hills approved In principle an addition to the headquarter building and garage an GVAS hopes to gain final approval to construct another vehicle bay and a second floor to permit better vehicle main tenance and cleaning facilities and improved kitchen classroomandhalnlngcapabillties At the time of writing these plans are subject to engineering studies and the final approval of full council The men behind the service RECEIVING INSTRUCTION in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or heart massage as It Is commonly known are GVAS members Eric Stone left and Len Hunxiger In the centre is Paul Stoner of the ministry of health ambulance services branch Keeping Georgetown Vo Ambulance Service operating smoothly from one day to the next is a demanding job which keeps the service executive active at all times This year s executive is headed by Chief Bob Simpson and Deputy chief Frank Kirk Handling the money end of the operation Is treasurer Gerard Wilcox Ross Is service secretory The service is split into two groups Group One is headed by Captain Andy Lieutenants for Group One include Ken Brown Garnet Cameron BUI Campbell and Len Mark Brassard heads the operation of Group Two with assistance from Lieutenants JohnBonla Bill Maxwell and Ed Savage Members of the GVAS assigned to Group One In Jim Bennett Bob Bradley Larry Cook George Cozens Bob Crawford George Dun can George Finnic Doug John Llghtowter Lea King Bill Moore Al Bob Angus Eric Harry ana Bill Stone Lloyd and Trevor Williams In Group Two are Ace Bailey Paul Bennett Davis Ed Hall Mike Doug Herring ton Jim Jenkins Joe Johnston Frank Kirk BUI Lane Tom Early Merrill Dave Ross Rennick Jim Smyth Doug Tucker Frank Tyrrell Van Home and Gerard Wilcox But a lot of the men do double duty with the am bulance service taking on extra responsibilities to ensure the service a success borough for Instance heads up the social activities of he service Ed Hall is the membership chairman To keep the public posted on the activities Andy handles the public relations end of thcopera lions An Important contribution Is offered by Jim Bennett who sets up the training programs for the group Medical supply Is looked after by Frank Kirk while Mark Brassard is in charge of vehicle main Still serving four from the original crew who formed the Georgetown Volunteer Ambulance ce still lively serving Ace Bailey Ed Hall Doug Henington and Gerard Wilcox were on hand back In when GVAS began operation In an old garage on Cross Street HOW YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE Gary Rolfe stopped at the Georgetown Volunteer Ambulance Service display over the weekend not realizing he would be used In one of the many demons Era lions that were scheduled for the event AND GVAS NOW 1975 sees the GVAS crews responding to calls in either one of these two vehicles Lieutenant Garnet Cameron at left stands beside the Cadillac ambulance and Hunziger is seen beside the Ford Notice the two locations from GVAS original headquarters on Cross Street to the new building on James Street THEN This Is the fust an owned by the Georgetown Volunteer Purchased in 19S7 the 1931 Chevrolet vehicle waa used for eight INSPECTING the that serves on the force wllh thd Georgetown Volunteer Ambulance Service were left to right Keith J