Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad History 1966 to Present
Emergency Medical Services to the Hollywood and Leonardtown areas originally started in 1966 under the leadership of John Delozier. The service was called the 3rd and 6th District Volunteer Rescue Squad. The name was chosen because of the cooperative basis on which the Rescue Squad was founded. The organization functioned very well with a combined membership from both areas.
Prior to 1966 ambulance service for Hollywood and Leonardtown communities was provided by the Mattingly Funeral Home.
"Rev. George Jennings presented a motion on the floor that as of this date, August 7,1975, the 3rd and 6th District Volunteer Rescue Squad, will formally resolve to disband as a working unit as of November 6, 1975. The interim period, from August 7 to November 6, 1975 is to be used by the 3rd and 6th District Rescue Squad, Inc. to work with respective attorneys and accountants selected by representative members of each district. The purpose of the interim period was to work out an agreeable arrangement to settle all financial and legal matters in separating the 3rd and 6th District Volunteer Rescue Squad and then take measures necessary to form two separate rescue squads. The motion was seconded by Frankie Anderson."
After much discussion fifteen (15) members voted in favor of and five(5) against the motion to dissolve the 3rd and 6th District Rescue Squad.
The first meeting of persons interested in forming the Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad was held on August 13, 1975 at the Old Hollywood Firehouse,( now known as the Hyperspace Fun Center), on the north side of Route 235 just south of Route 245. Several organizational meetings were held during the interim period.
The first slate of officers elected were: President- Floyd Abell, Vice President- Harley Cook, Secretary- Janet Cook, Treasurer Bruce Perrygo, and Chief- Allison Johnson.
The first slate of Line Officers appointed were: Assistant Chief- Bill Keffer, Captain- Harry Dalton, 1st Lieutenant- Charles Latham, and 2nd Lieutenant- Stephanie Abell.
The Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad officially went into operation on November 6, 1975 with the following Charter Members: Floyd Abell, Stephanie Abell, Frank Anderson, Harley Cook, Janet Cook, Kevin Cusic, Jacqueline Dalton, Harry Dalton, Dale Dean, Allen Johnson, Allison Johnson, William Keffer, Bruce Perrygo, Linda Perrygo, George Hunt, IV, and Charles Lathum.
The first Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad ambulances were a 1969 Cadillac designated as "Rescue 7" and a 1974 Dodge Van designated as "Ambulance 79".
The first business meeting of the newly formed Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad, Inc. was held on November 12, 1975 at the Hollywood Firehouse. The officers of the Hollywood and Leonardtown Rescue Squads were sworn in by Maryland General Assembly Delegate Michael Sprague at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department.
Once the Rescue Squad was organized, Floyd Abell went to work researching courthouse land records looking for owners of property that would be most centrally located and would provide a desirable location for a Rescue Squad building in the Hollywood Community. After he obtained the information he began to make contact with the local property owners. He advised the individuals that in a few years the Rescue Squad would be in a position to purchase a piece of property for the purpose of erecting a building to house the squad and its emergency equipment.
Since the new Rescue Squad did not have a building of their own to house the ambulances, the members on duty would take the ambulance home with them and the "Fireboard" would call them by phone to let them know they had a call. In the first month of operation, there was a total of 20 ambulance calls with a total of 536 on-call miles.
The statistics for the first year of operation were as follows: Sick Calls- 108, Motor Vehicle Crash - 38, Stand-bys- 29, Injured Subjects- 38, and Transports- 27. Total Calls- 240 Total On-Call Miles- 5,871
Squad members ordered dark blue jackets with lettering at a cost of $11.00 each. This was one of the first uniform identifications worn by the members.
Clarence Greenwell was voted as the first Associate Member on January 7, 1976 by a unanimous ballot.
The land for the present Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad building was donated by Mr. and Mrs. J. Manning McKay in 1981. The ground breaking and construction for the squad building took place in April 1982. The Rescue Squad was built by Elwood Joy.
The Squad entered a float in the Southern Maryland Volunteer Fireman's Association Convention Parade hosted by the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department on May 16, 1982.
The first business meeting in our new building was held on October 6, 1982, and was called to order by President Harley Cook.
The induction of the Squad membership into the Maryland State Fireman's Association (MSFA) was held on April 9, 1983. They were notified on May 12th that our application for membership had been accepted.
The Rescue Squad building was dedicated on April 10, 1983 and a corner stone was put in place that day. The Rescue Squad building was dedicated to the people of the community served by the Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad, Inc.
Bill Keffer was elected as an Honorary Member on October 12, 1983. The flagpoles were installed in November 1983. The identity of Rescue 7 was changed to Ambulance 78 on December 8, 1983.
It was announced at the November 7, 1984 meeting that Ambulance 79 had been sold for $2500.00 and a new ambulance would be arriving soon.
On February 15, 1986 the designated number system for rescue squad vehicles in St. Mary's County was changed to three (3) digits. Ambulances 78 and 79 became Ambulances 798 and 799 respectively.
Our application for membership to the MSFA was accepted in 1983, we did not join the Association until June 17, 1986.
In March 1987 the Hollywood VRS joined the membership of the Southern Maryland Volunteer Fireman's Association (SMVFA).
Dale Dean was voted to Life Membership November 12, 1987.
A 1988 Ford/Yankee Coach designated as Ambulance 797 was delivered on September 7, 1988 at the cost $70,000.00.
In December 1988, Gary Joy was elected as the 1st person from our squad to serve on the St. Mary's County Study Committee. That committee eventually became the Emergency Service Committee for St. Mary's County.
The membership adopted a new company shoulder patch on 1988. It was gray with an orange border.
The Squad also obtained a used Sheriff's Deputy Car from St. Mary's County in 1988. It was designated as Car 79 and given the nickname, "Thumper".
In March 1989 we started a Cadet Program. Kimberly (Gatton) Sullivan was accepted as a Cadet on April 13, 1989. She was the first member to go from a Cadet to a Junior Member to an Active Member.
Two (2) additional radio frequencies (33.08 and 33.10) were put into effect in St. Mary's County in July of 1989. These frequencies allowed for more monitoring of emergency equipment during multiple emergency situations.
In January 1990, our cadet Program had increased its membership to eighteen (18) Cadets.
We hosted our first SMVFA meeting on January 29, 1990.
Because of her volunteer work in the Emergency Services community the membership of the HVRS nominated Joan (Knight ) Williams the St. Mary's Woman of the Year in 1990. She received a Certificate of Recognition at a ceremony that was held in February.
Joan (Knight) Williams and Gary Joy were inducted into the SMVFA Hall of Fame in May 1990. John O. Gatton, Sr. was inducted into the MSFA Hall of Fame in June 1990.
In 1991, we took delivery of two (2) E- 350 Ford/ Medtec ambulances. The units were designated as Ambulance 798 and 799.
In May 1991 we lost Past Assistant Chief, Rick Knight, to a long time illness. It was a great loss to all of us. As a tribute to Rick, his name was engraved on a bronze plaque and placed on Ambulance 798 and was dedicated to his memory.
With some remodeling of the Rescue Squad building by several members, bunkrooms were added to the building in 1992.
The Squad purchased it first Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) in August 1992 at a cost of approximately $6100.00.
We won the Emergency Medical Services Contest at the SMVFA Convention in Solomon's, MD in May 1993. We also won the contest in 1994.
The large metal building adjacent to the Rescue Squad parking lot was donated to us by B. Frank Joy Co. in 1993. Rich Williams was instrumental in getting the building constructed. This building housed apparatus while they are being repaired, as well as Utility 79. It also housed an athletic workout room for the members and a storage room for the engineers.
The Third Lieutenant Line Officer position was added in February 1994.
Gary Joy was voted in as a Life Member on July 14, 1994.
In January 1995, the Squad purchased a second AED as a cost of $5,174.00.
The Maryland State Legislature passes a $3,000.00 Tax Incentive Bill for the Fire and Rescue Volunteers in Maryland for the 1997 tax year.
A 1996 Ford Explorer was purchased in July 1995. It was designated Utility 79. The vehicle was dedicated to the members of the Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad Auxiliary in recognition of their support of the Rescue Squad.
David Redmond was voted as a Life Member on August 10, 1995.
During Halloween 1995 we held a Haunted House that was open to the public. The metal building was used for a maze. Everyone had lots of fun, from the visitors to the works, to the spectators.
In January 1996, we hosted the Southern Maryland Volunteer Fireman's Association meeting with one of the largest attendance ever.
In May 1996, Stanley Williams was elected to the SMVFA Hall of Fame.
Joan Williams was voted in as Life Member on July 11, 1996.
A new public address stereo system was installed in Rescue Squad building in April 1997.
An Auction Fundraiser was held in June 1997 with Auctioneer Rodney Thompson selling everything in sight. We cleared over $3200.00 thanks to his expertise with the crowd.
A new generator for backup power to the squad building was installed in August 1997.
Wendy Wible was voted as a Life Member on September 11, 1997.
In December 1997 the squad placed an order for a new Horton Ambulance. This unit was designated as Ambulance 796. We also changed out squad colors from Orange and White to Forest Green, White, and Gold. The unit was delivered in May 1998.
After a CPR/AED Demonstration the Hollywood Lions Club donated $1200.00 to the Rescue Squad towards the purchase of a new "Generic Rescue-Annie" used for future training.
Joan Williams was elected Secretary of the SMVFA in May 1999. She became the first person from a rescue squad to hold an office in the Association.
Members Mike and Sharon Davis were made Honorary Members on September 9, 1999 when they relocated to Holland.
The position of Assistant Treasurer was added on October 10, 1999.
The St. John Francis Regis Knights of Columbus of Hollywood recognized Gary Williams EMT of the year for 1999.
Our 25th Anniversary Open House was held on May 21, 2000. There were several former members who attended the celebration.
United States Vice President Al Gore visited Hollywood in October 2000. Several of our members assisted with his visit by providing a stand-by Emergency Medical Services both at the Walter F. Duke Airport and Burch Oil Company Storage Facility located in Hollywood.
In 2002, Ambulance 798 was sent to be rechassised. In this process, the ambulance body, or “box” was removed from the 1991 Ford chassis and installed on a new 2002 Ford E-450 chassis. During this process, it was also painted to the updated White/Green/Gold color scheme.
In 2003, Ambulance 799 was remounted from its 1991 Ford chassis to a 2003 Ford E-450 chassis.
A 2004 Ford E-450/Horton ambulance was placed in-service as Ambulance 797, replacing the 1988 Ford E-350/Yankee Coach ambulance.
On July 15, 2004, at our monthly business meeting, Lieutenant Jim Brenzo was recognized by the Maryland State Firemen's Association as the Top Responder for EMS Related Assistance for the Year 2003. Lieutenant Brenzo did this by running a total of 869.
February, 2005, a John Dear HPX Gator 4-wheel drive high performance vehicle with the med-bed rescue attachment was placed in service as Gator 79.
A 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 was purchased and placed in-service as EMS 79. EMS 79 carries additional supplies and equipment to supplement what is carried onboard the Ambulances in the event of a Mass Causality Situation. It is also equipped with additional two-way radios to be able to function as a Medical Command Unit. Finally, it is used to transport Gator 79.
In 2005 the position of Deputy Chief was added.
The membership, in 2010, voted to purchase a 2008 GMC C4500/Horton Ambulance to replace Ambulance 798. This ambulance was used by the local dealer as a demonstrator model. It also brought many firsts to the department. This was the first “Medium Duty” ambulance purchased by the department, providing a larger patient compartment that our previous ambulances and our first with an air-ride suspension. The air-ride provides increased comfort for our crews and patients.
A 2011 Ford Expedition was purchased and placed in-service as Car 79. Car 79 is used as a Rapid-Response vehicle and can also tow Gator 79.
During the summer of 2012, the department began evaluating new ambulances, as our fleet was beginning to show its age. After evaluating many different manufacturers, an order was placed in late 2012 for a 2013 Freightliner M2/Wheeled Coach ambulance to replace Ambulance 799 a 2003 Ford E-450/1991 Medtec. This unit was placed in-service on July 7, 2013.
January, 2013 an order was placed for a 2014 Freightliner M2/Wheeled Coach ambulance to replace Ambulance 796, a 1998 Ford E-450/Horton. This unit was placed in-service September, 2013.
In addition to this very website, in 2013, Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad entered into the social media realm with its official Facebook page. With the combination of the website and Facebook page, we can share information with the community on events and can provide helpful information.
During the August, 2015 business meeting, it was decided to retire Ambulance 797, a 2004 Ford E-450/Horton.
Through the years we have held many events to raise funds to help support our Squad. Some of the projects we have held are: auctions, candy sales, dances, air fairs, Gospel singing, Race Track stand-by, basket bingo, ATV raffle, other raffles, dunking booth at the HVFD Carnival, family portrait studios, bingo machine, wood splitting contest, chain saw raffle, pizza sales, grocery store register receipts, park cars at the Blessing of the Fleet.
As a community support, we have provided Emergency Medical Service stand by at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department Carnival for 25 years.
For the past several years during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays, our members have contributed food, time and money to provide "Food Baskets" and gifts for the needy. We also contributed to the building of the playground located at the St. Mary's County Governmental Complex in Leonardtown.
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