Richlands EMS not permitted to fund itself and keep operating

As of midnight Wednesday a local volunteer rescue squad says it will no longer be able receive 911 calls. This comes six months after changes to the way they had been operating.

The Richlands Volunteer Rescue Squad thought it had a plan to comply with how they were told to move forward.

When the Onslow County Commissioners voted in September to stop funding four volunteer rescue squads, the squads were told they had three options. They could merge with a local fire department, provide their own funding, or stop operating.

The Richlands Volunteer Rescue Squad is the only one that chose to fund themselves, but now that they have told county officials they want to do that, officials now say that is no longer an option.

Victoria Roman, Richlands Volunteer EMS and Rescue says, "By keeping us open, it would help the community because helping the community means that we can maybe get there to start assisting the medics faster, we can get to those crash calls possibly faster. so, we would just be bettering the community."

Roman says the county commissioners said they could continue, as long as we were financially funded by themselves. But then she says Emergency Operations Command officials told them otherwise. County officials say it would be too much of a medical liability for them to have a contract with Richlands Volunteer Rescue Squad, even if the squad is self-funded

Jack Bright, Onslow County Commissioner Chairman says, "There would be too much of a liability to contract them. They would not be operating under the licensing of the physician that we have contracted, so they would be practicing medicine without a license."

County officials did not comment when asked why Richlands Rescue was first told they could continue to operate self-funded, but then were told they could not.

Richlands Volunteer Rescue Squad said they will continue their training, and they are considering going back to the county commissioners to propose a new agreement that would allow them to have county medical supervision.

Onslow County officials say emergency personnel from the county will continue to respond to all 911 calls, and citizens will continue to receive life-saving medical care whenever needed.