Mathews supervisors and County Administrator Mindy Conner took a field trip on July 13 to the Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad building at Hudgins. Rescue squad personnel had requested the visit in order to give supervisors more information about the squad’s needs than is possible within the confines of a regular monthly board meeting, said squad spokesman Ron Lambert.

During the meeting, squad president Judy Buis revealed that the squad now has only six volunteers and is running most of its calls with 13 paid personnel. Those medics care about residents and work hard to reduce their response times on calls, said Buis, including staying at the squad building when they’re on call, although it’s not required.

The paid medics are all part-time, said business manager Dave Burns, and all are Mathews County residents who have full-time jobs at paid departments in Hampton Roads. This enables the squad to forgo insurance coverage and other benefits, resulting in significant s...