Times are tough for most everyone, but that is the environment Rescue 33 has survived in since the 1960s.
After an injured woman involved in an accident waited for an ambulance to arrive, residents put their heads together and Rescue 33 was born.
The volunteer squad began making calls in 1965 and was incorporated in 1968.
Before it was named Rescue 33, however, it was part of the North Chillicothe Fire Department.
When North Chillicothe and Chillicothe merged in 1969, the ambulance squad chose not to merge with the Chillicothe Fire Department.
Residents now affectionately use the NCFD affiliation as “no charge for delivery,” which is the same as it was in the 1960s.
Donut Days became a Chillicothe tradition in 1969 when BB’s restaurant owner Gnile Beebe and Rescue 33 volunteers Bob and Earl Fulton made and sold the doughnuts.
For two years, they made the doughnuts at the restaurant. After that, they were made at the Rescue 33 garage.
Many residents through the years have donated their time and resources for other benefits for the squad.
And some even volunteer their time to help fry, ice and box the sweet treats.
The need is always great each year for the cash-strapped squad.
Rescue 33 operates on about $110,000 each year, not including paying some of those who staff the daytime hours and buying ambulances.
Paying the daytime emergency medical technicians happened within the last year after Rescue 33 could not find volunteers who were not working during those hours.
The squad recently purchased a new ambulance for $130,000, which was not a budgeted item.
“In order to not charge, all the money we have is really important to us,” president of Rescue 33 Ron Hedden said. “We’re trying to find an additional source of income.”
The squad relies on the generosity of the residents’ donations to pay for its operations.
Other sources of revenue include memorials, Claud-Elen Days funds and the squad’s food tent, and the Labor Day breakfast begun by Ted Bailey.
Recently, the squad also made money from Rib Classic in the fall, but that event will not happen this year, according to organizers.
Rescue 33 needs all the help it can get from the service that assists any, and all, needing emergency services.
We should show the squad the same devotion by donating what we can to the cause.
If you can afford only one $4 box of doughnuts, then you have done your part. If you can afford more boxes of doughnuts or simply wish to make a donation, this weekend is the time.
Rescue 33 members already devote their time to assisting the community — they should not have to worry about the funds needed to keep the service going.
