Greenville Rescue Squad dedicates new building to beloved EMT

GREENVILLE―A devoted emergency services volunteer was present in spirit when the Greenville Rescue Squad hosted dedication ceremonies for the Frances Sickles Memorial EMS Building.

The October 17 event also served as an open house for the squad’s new headquarters at 2133 County Route 41.

“In 1972, a group of neighbors started an ambulance service,” said Chief of Operations Matthew Marlow.

“They had no paid staff and no building of their own. What they did have was the firm belief that when someone in this community called for help someone from this community should answer,” he said.

“This belief hasn’t changed in more than fifty years. When the call comes in, the people who show up aren’t strangers,” Marlow said. “They’re your neighbors and they live down the road. They know the intersection, the farmhouse, and the long driveway you can’t see from the street.”

“They answered from home, rushing to the firehouse to get on the ambulance before heading to the call for help, leaving family dinners and events, or even getting out of bed in the middle of the night,” he continued.

“For all those years,” Marlow noted, “the squad did its work in borrowed space. The Greenville Fire District gave us room to store our equipment and apparatus, and they have been our partners through our entire history.”

“We are grateful to them. In 2016 we made a landmark change and brought on paid career staff. The countless volunteer hours that went into this squad, in every decade since 1972, are the foundation under everything you see today,” he said.

Despite the personnel advances, equipment ended up spread across three locations.

“A rented building served as our office and two firehouses―miles apart on country roads―housed our apparatus. For a time, our duty ambulance sat outdoors. Then it moved into a white RV tent that every crew member knew as ‘the Marshmallow,’” he said.

The new building puts the squad under one roof, with a bay that houses its entire fleet.

“It gives our crews full living quarters with the comforts of home, for people who spend long hours away from their own. And it gives us a modern, efficient space to train, work and maintain our equipment,” he added.

The new building is named in honor of late board member and EMT Frances Sickles, who passed away in May.

“She was a volunteer with this squad and a well-known, respected and beloved figure in regional EMS,” Marlow said.

“Once her time on the road ended, she gave her time, experience and care to guiding the squad. Fran loved this building. She was proud that we were finally able to leave our borrowed space behind and come together under one roof,’ he added.

“She helped make it happen. So it is with great honor, and with deep love, that we dedicate this building to her memory,” Marlow said.

Board Chairman Theodore Nugent said the building was “a long time coming,” noting that its central location provides easy access to major roads for swift call response.

Greene County Sheriff Pete Kusminsky, a guest speaker, noted that EMS personnel are called during some of the most difficult moments in a person’s life.

“They respond to medical emergencies, accidents, and life-threatening situations, frequently under tremendous pressure,” Kusminsky said.

“They do this with professionalism, compassion and a genuine commitment to helping others… often without knowing what awaits them,” the sheriff continued.

It’s only fitting, he added, to dedicate the station in Sickles’ name.

“She was a very special part of this community and dedicated a tremendous amount of time to helping others,” Kusminsky said. “She always had a smile on her face and had no problem telling you what was on her mind.”