DANVILLE, Va. – Car doors closing, engines starting: Danville Life Saving Crew members heard those sounds 258 more times last month than they did in February of 2018.
That's an almost 41 percent increase in calls.
"We definitely notice the call volume," Danville Life Saving Crew training coordinator Tommy Barber said.
In the past year, Barber said, career staff members have been hired to help the volunteers cover calls.
"It is tiring. I'm not tired when I'm on duty, but when I get home, I find out I'm exhausted," Barber said. "I know at the end of the day that I did what I could for someone and it makes me feel good."
One of the career staff members that has been hired is Johnny Mills.
His job is to help people who frequently call 911 address the issues that are causing them to make so many calls.
"(From) January to February, we had a 10 percent call reduction, from 22 percent down to 10 percent on the (people) that are in the (community paramedicine) program," Mills explained.
But, there's a catch.
"We've added another 12 percent during that time. These are brand-new callers," Mills said.
He's confident that the more he works with the frequent callers, the more he'll be able to reduce calls.
"Some of these (people) may take two to three months (to change)," Mills said. "It's a lifestyle change."
Barber says the Danville Life Saving Crew is growing so fast, its future is unknown.
"Just trying to keep up with call volume, it's hard to really see what can happen down the road. We're focused on what's going on right now," Barber said.
For more information about the community paramedicine program, click here.