Western Albemarle Rescue Squad

Foggy start to the annual Beaver Creek Dam Turn Regatta this morning. WARS is providing water rescue standby with help from our regional water rescue partners with Albemarle County Fire Rescue and Charlottesville - Albemarle Rescue Squad. Another year and another successful event here!

We hope everyone enjoys this great fall weather while it lasts!

Interested in learning more about WARS and what makes our agency so great?! We do more than just EMS but provide extrication/technical rescue services, water rescue and UTV/off road rescue. Come schedule a ride along if you’re interested in joining or just to learn more, email us at [email protected] to get started. Training is provided free for members, so volunteer today!

WARS was well represented by instructors and attendees at today’s UVA Pegasus Critical Response. The first continuing education day held in many years and we are happy to see it back. Lots of great educational information shared and learned today. Thanks Pegasus!

Happy Halloween from our crew to yours. When one person on the crew doesn’t wish to participate in a Halloween costume theme, we make the theme about that person. Any guesses who we are?! I know it’s hard to tell us apart because everyone in this picture looks exactly the same.

We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

🚑 🚑🚨 🚑💨

Come see us today at Trunk or Treat at Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. we’ve got plenty of candy to hand out and a spooky tour of the ambulance. We will be here until 7pm. We hope to see you!

We had a blast at the Greenwood Community Center today at the Trunk or Treat! We enjoyed seeing everyone who came out.

If we missed you or you didn’t get to come out, we hope to see you at the next Trunk or Treat at Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. on 10/24.

** Traffic Alerts **

ACPD and ACFR continue to respond to multiple calls for service related to the impacts of Helene.

Traffic alerts as of 7 am on 9/30/24:
• 2400 block of Castle Rock Road is closed due to washed up asphalt
• 6500 block of Plank Road at Miller School Road closed due to high water
• 5900 block of Plank Road closed due to mud and debris
• Carrsbrook Drive at Seminole Trail to Indian Springs Road is closed due to downed power lines

Please exercise caution when traveling on roadways, avoid floodwaters, and obey all barricades. Visit www.511Virginia.org for the most up to date traffic information. If you come across a road hazard that needs immediate attention, please call 1-800-367-7623 (FOR-ROAD) or visit my.vdot.virginia.gov.

*ROAD IS BACK OPEN* Crozet Avenue is closed from St. George Avenue to Three Notch’d Road due to high water

** Community Notification & Traffic Alerts **

ACPD and ACFR are responding to multiple calls for downed trees, downed power lines, and flooding across the County. Avoid the roads if you can, and don't go near a fallen tree or power line.

Below is a listing of closed roadways as of 4:45 am 9/26/24. Visit 511Virginia.org for current road conditions. Contact VDOT to report roadway hazards 24/7 at 800-FOR-ROAD (367-7623) or my.vdot.virginia.gov.

• 1100 block of 5th Street SW, southbound lanes closed
• 1190 block of Old Lynchburg Road, southbound lanes closed
• 1200 block of Garth Road
• Browns Gap Turnpike at Three Notch'd Road
• Plank Road at Mile End Ridge
• Old Garth Road at Ivy Road

We are at the Crozet Community Health Fair today at Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. come by and see us! We love meeting our community and hope to speak with you. We will be here until 4:30pm!

On this day, we pause, reflect and remember those lives lost on that September morning. We hope you will take a moment out of your day to pause and reflect on that fateful day as well. We will never forget.

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
The "Why Western Wednesday" for this week is Annabelle Smith!
Annabelle has been at WARS for 2.5 years and her primary crew is Thursday Night Crew (RNC).
Annabelle joined WARS because she has always been interested in emergency medicine and was looking for a way to gain direct experience in the field. She was looking for a different perspective than city EMS and was intrigued by the idea of a rural setting with longer transport times. Her favorite part about WARS is the relationships she has formed with her crew. She thinks they have helped her to grow so much as both a provider and a person!
Outside of WARS, Annabelle works as a patient care technician for UVA Children’s Hospital. She graduated from UVA in 2023 and is currently applying to PA school. She is a huge live music fan and her biggest hobby is playing guitar!
Annabelle, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community! Also, thank you for always playing music for us on our Saturday 24 hour shifts.
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
The "Why Western Wednesday" for this week is April Hippenstiel!
April has been at WARS for 2.5 years and her primary crew is Friday Night Crew.
April joined WARS during her first-year at UVA at eighteen to gain clinical experience as she desired to apply to PA school in the future and give back to the Albemarle community in a unique way. On a deeper level, she has wanted to join an EMS agency since she was young as she had been looking to give back the same compassion that her family received years ago when her grandmother passed away suddenly in their home.
What April enjoys the most about WARS is sharing a meal together as she found a second family at WARS. The people at Western are what makes the agency a second home. She has developed deep friendships with people here that will continue to grow.
Outside of WARS, April is a fourth year student at UVA. She works for UVA Special Event Medical Management (SEMM), and she is a biology tutor for undergraduate students at UVA. She also works in a cardiovascular research lab studying cardiovascular disease.
April, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community!
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Excited to share our partnership with HAAS Alert. Our number 1 priority is the safety of our members and the community. This safety program will give motorists a more advanced notification when approaching an emergency scene, a notification when an emergency vehicle is approaching them from behind or they are about to cross intersections with an emergency vehicle all before motorists can see them. We hope with the advance notification drivers will be more prepared for sudden stops or sudden changes in traffic patterns, move over and give public safety personnel space.

Connecting this system was a no brainer, especially since it connected in to existing hardware on emergency vehicles.

WARS is dedicated to keeping our members safe and roadsides are the most dangerous locations for our members to be. A little investment to help keep everyone safe and prevent secondary accidents is worth it.

As a reminder, it is the law that you must move over (if possible, if not slow down) and give 1 lane of space to emergency vehicles operating along roadways, this includes tow trucks and disabled motorist.

Want to learn more about this and what makes WARS so great?! Come see for yourself and schedule a ride along today! Email: [email protected]

Western Albemarle emergency vehicles will now show up on navigation ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Avoiding emergency vehicles on the roads just got easier and safer in Western Albemarle County.

Condolences out to family, friends and our brothers and sisters with the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department (Boulevard's Bravest) for the passing of Assistant Chief Stephen Chappell. Steve was a former member of the Charlottesville - Albemarle Rescue Squad and worked in UVA Medcom while in Charlottesville. Steve dedicated his life to public safety and he will be remembered for the impact he had on its growth and management over the last 40 years. May his memory be eternal.

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
The "Why Western Wednesday" for this week is Ethan Powell! Ethan has been at WARS for around 3 years and his primary crew is Wednesday Night Crew (WNC).
Ethan joined WARS because he had always been interested in EMS and wanted to see if he was cut out for the challenge of being an EMT. He joined WARS when he was 17 and in his junior year of high school and wanted to do more to support and give back to his local community. Having already been a member of the Crozet Vol. Fire Department, he had worked closely with WARS and when a friend of his joined the rescue squad he figured that was a perfect time for him to commit and join as well. Almost immediately after joining, he fell in love with WARS and all the people that made up this amazing agency, and he knew this was a place where he wanted to be.
His favorite thing about WARS is the seemingly endless knowledge, teaching, and learning that takes place. There are so many members that have endless amounts of training and experience in and outside of WARS, and they are so eager and willing to teach and pass this knowledge on to others that will hold on to that information for the rest of their EMS careers and make them better providers. Another huge perk is the people what make up WARS; he has met some of his closest friends here and it truly is like a second family at Western where everyone takes care of each other.
Outside of WARS, Ethan is a tech in the UVA ER and he is about to begin paramedic school in the fall!
Ethan, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community! Good luck in your paramedic program!
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
The "Why Western Wednesday" for this week is Bella Rowan!
Bella has been at WARS for 2 years and her primary crew is Friday Night Crew.
Bella joined WARS because she wanted to join a squad that was outside of Charlottesville and she was told that WARS had the best training process!
The thing she enjoys most about WARS are the people that she has met - especially her crew! She says that Friday nights are filled with lots of different personalities, ages, and skills. This has given her the opportunity to learn from those who have more experience than she does, and has made her a better provider. Beyond EMS skills, she is very grateful to WARS for the family that she has acquired and her favorite chore is vacuuming!
Outside of WARS, Bella is a rising third year undergraduate at UVA and she also works in a lab in the West Complex!
Bella, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community!
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

With Tropical Depression Debby moving through the area yesterday and last night, the WARS Water Rescue team was ready. Crozet and Western Albemarle received close to 7” of rain yesterday with the majority and 5-6” falling between 10pm and 2am. Some local areas may have received more. The large amount of rain in a short period of time quickly caused the Stockton Creek to rise and the Misty Mountain Camp Resort to flood, stranding many campers. The first calls for help were received by the Charlottesville, UVA, Albemarle County Emergency Communications Center just before 3:30am. With assistance from Crozet Volunteer Fire Department, Albemarle County Fire Rescue and Charlottesville - Albemarle Rescue Squad, 12 stranded campers (and pets) were rescued by boats and moved to higher ground. Crews were on scene until just before 6am this morning. There were no injuries

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
The "Why Western Wednesday" for this week is Peyton Rieger!
Peyton has been at WARS for around 3 years and her primary crew is Thursday Night Crew.
Being from Charlottesville, Peyton joined WARS because she wanted to be able to give back to her local community while attending UVA for undergrad, and has continued to volunteer after graduation. She loves her Thursday Night Crew family, the people that she has met across all the different crews, and the opportunities to always teach and learn. She is also so grateful for the chance to have trained to be on the water rescue team. In summary - she loves the people she works with, the people the rescue squad serves, and getting to give back to her community.
When not running shifts at WARS, Peyton enjoys whitewater sports and playing with her Australian Shepherd, Bodo. She also teaches CPR at the Life Support Learning Center, and today is her first day of medical school at the University of Virginia School of Medicine!
Peyton, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community! Good luck in medical school!
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
The "Why Western Wednesday" for this week is Cassi Kelly!
Cassi has been at WARS for around 18 months and her primary crew is Monday Day Crew. Cassi joined WARS because she wanted to have hands-on patient care where she felt like she could make a difference. She hoped to learn new skills and challenge herself to try something different.
Her favorite part about WARS is the connections that she has formed. She says that WARS is truly a big family and she enjoys being a part of it. Also, members come from such different backgrounds and she finds it interesting to learn about their stories and experiences. Everyone has something to offer at WARS and it makes it so unique. She appreciates that WARS is a combo of students and community members because it brings so much more to the organization.
When not running shifts at WARS, Cassi works as an Emergency Department Technician at Duke. She loves to travel and scuba dive when she has some extra time.
Cassi, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community!
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
Our member feature for "Why Western Wednesday" this week is Stacy Hosenfeld!
Stacy has been at WARS on and off for 16 years, with 8 of the years being active in the area. She rotates between assorted crews filling in as needed.
Stacy joined WARS because she heard someone speak at her job about how they volunteered with EMS/at WARS to give back to their community. She then looked WARS up, made a call or two and got enrolled in the next EMT class we had at WARS in the annex.
Stacy says that WARS is what motivated her to change her career path into medicine. So, she enjoys giving back to the community she lives in and the organization that made her realize that it’s “never too late” to do something new. She also absolutely loves learning and working alongside people in different stages of life, and learning from one another. She says that she could ride in an ambulance with someone 20 years her senior and her junior, and all be working towards the same goal.
Outside of WARS Stacy is an acute care nurse practitioner in vascular medicine at UVA. Additionally, she gets into shenanigans with her favorite mini golden-doodle Piper, and is a resident foodie and local food fiend.
Stacy, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community!
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Welcome back to our "Why Western Wednesday" series.
Each week, we will be introducing you to one of our members and sharing what they love about WARS!
The "Why Western Wednesday" for this week is John Flood!
John has been at WARS for around 6 years and his primary crew is Friday Night Crew.
John joined WARS because he had recently been widowed and was looking for something to fill the void and a way to give back to his community. His favorite part about WARS is belonging to something bigger than himself and the people that he gets to serve with! Outside of WARS, John is retired and volunteers at St. Thomas Aquinas RC Church.
John, we are so grateful for you and your commitment to our community!
Interested in joining WARS or want to learn more? Reach out to [email protected] for more information.