AnsweringRichmond'sCall.
A 100% volunteer Advanced Life Support ambulance service, dispatched citywide. We treat patients in the field, train the next generation of medics, and stand watch when the community gathers, funded by neighbors, not by the city.
501(c)(3) nonprofit · 100% volunteer · No city subsidy
- Crews
- Volunteer, around the clock
- Coverage
- City of Richmond, citywide
- Funding
- Community supported
Active equipment need
Cardiac monitors
● Our mission
A legacy of service, a future we build together
In the fall of 1959, three Richmonders saw a need in their neighborhood that nobody was meeting: emergency medical care and transport for the sick and injured. Their answer was the West End Volunteer Rescue Squad, whose first unit marked in service on February 18, 1960, out of a Texaco station on West Cary Street.
More than six decades later we are the Richmond Volunteer Rescue Squad, the only volunteer agency exclusively serving the City of Richmond, integrated into the city's EMS system alongside the Richmond Ambulance Authority.
We answer 9-1-1 calls, we teach, we stand by at events, and we keep the idea of neighbors helping neighbors alive.
Our first ambulance was a 1955 Cadillac. Members sometimes filled the tank and bought supplies out of their own pockets.
● What we do
Four ways we show up
Emergency care is the headline, but it is far from the whole job.
911 Emergency Response
Advanced Life Support ambulances and providers dispatched to emergency calls in every neighborhood of the City of Richmond.
02Special Event Medical Coverage
Medical staffing for events of every size, from community cookouts and races to large-scale spectator events.
03EMT Training & Education
A 220-hour EMT-Basic certification course that exceeds the state curriculum, plus continuing education for providers across the region.
04Disaster & Mass Casualty Readiness
Equipment, training and plans to respond to disasters and mass casualty incidents across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
● Where the money goes
Equipment we are raising for
We receive no subsidy from the City of Richmond. Fuel, supplies, insurance and uniforms alone cost at least $130,000 a year, before a single piece of equipment.
Headquarters Renovation
Our Chantilly Street headquarters was built in 1969 and needs critical upgrades to keep crews ready.
Annual Operating Costs
Fuel, supplies, insurance and uniforms: the baseline cost of keeping the doors open for a year, with no city subsidy.
Upgraded Cardiac Monitors
The devices we use to defibrillate, monitor cardiac rhythm and run 12-lead EKGs in the field.
Ambulance Replacement
Emergency response is hard on vehicles. No matter how well they are maintained, units eventually have to be replaced.
Regional Radio Equipment
Interoperable communications with the regional public safety radio system our partners dispatch on.
High-Fidelity Simulation Manikins
Lifelike patient simulators that let new EMTs rehearse critical calls before they meet a real patient.
● On the calendar
Come stand with us
Fundraisers, open houses and community nights, every one of them keeps an ambulance on the street.
05Fundraiser
Night at the Squad: Open House & Fundraiser
Tour the rigs, meet the crews, and help fund our next cardiac monitor. Food, live music and a raffle.
6:00 PM · RVA Rescue Headquarters23Community
CPR & Stop the Bleed Community Day
Free hands-on training with our medics. Learn compression-only CPR and how to control severe bleeding.
10:00 AM · RVA Rescue Headquarters20Fundraiser
Trivia Night for the Squad
Six rounds, one trophy, and every dollar goes to training equipment for new EMTs.
7:00 PM · Rescue Hall● Play & learn
Three minutes. Sharper instincts.
A little friendly competition, built on the skills our crews use on every call. Post a score and see where you land on the squad leaderboard.
Rhythm
Pulse CheckHold 110 beats per minute
Chest compressions live between 100 and 120 per minute. Tap the pad on the beat and see how steady your hands are.
PlayMemory
Gear MatchRestock the rig
Every item in the ambulance has a home. Flip the compartments and match the pairs before the call clears.
PlayKnowledge
Squad TriviaTen questions, no lifelines
EMS fundamentals, Richmond history and a little squad lore. Ten questions to prove you were paying attention.
Play● Community
A squad is a neighborhood that decided to show up
Our volunteers live here, work here and raise families here. They coach little league, run into patients at the grocery store, and come back the next week to do it again. No paycheck, just the reason the squad has lasted since 1960.
Around the ambulance, there is a whole community that makes the work possible: donors, sponsors, event hosts and the families of our members.
Every dollar stays local
$130,000 a year keeps our doors open. No city money.
Your gift is tax-deductible and goes straight to fuel, supplies, training and the equipment our crews carry. Pledge a gift today and a squad member will follow up.