ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828NewsNow.com) – After being in service for more than 60 years, the Buncombe County Rescue Squad announced on Oct. 29 that it is shutting down.
The Rescue Squad’s social media post said, “The Squad is closing. The legacy of service is not.”
The post said the Rescue Squad started in 1964, when members of the community came together to search for a lost child. The Squad said from that one experience grew a commitment that whenever the community had a need, Rescue Squad members would find a way to help.
Photo credit: Buncombe Co. Rescue Squad
Photo credit: Buncombe Co. Rescue Squad
Photo credit: Buncombe Co. Rescue Squad
“That commitment became our mission,” the post said.
Through the years, other organizations were formed, and calls to the Rescue Squad began to slowly decline.
“The services and resources that now exist are meeting the needs we once stepped forward to fill. For the first time, there is not another gap waiting for us. And so, the time has come for our Rescue Squad to close,” the Rescue Squad said. “When there was a gap, we filled it. And now that the gap is gone, we can close this chapter knowing that we did what we were created to do.”
The Squad said this wasn’t a story of an organization’s failure. Instead, it was a story of a mission fulfilled.
“There is sadness in saying goodbye to something that has been part of this community since 1964. But there is also tremendous pride,” the Rescue Squad’s post said.
The Rescue Squad closed with this statement:
To every member who served, every family who supported them, every organization that worked alongside us, and every person in this community who supported and trusted us through the years: Thank you. What began with neighbors searching for a lost child became more than six decades of neighbors helping neighbors. When the community changed, we changed. From all of us, thank you for allowing us to serve.