| On a beautiful sunny afternoon, the River Oaks Fire and Rescue Station 23 officially opened. The dedication ceremony was held on Saturday, September 11, 2010 which marked the ninth anniversary of the many brave men and women who died from the terrorist attacks on the United States.
The lead organization in the construction of the new station was the Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad with support from the Dumfries-Triangle Volunteer Fire Department and Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue.
"The station is dedicated to two men whose lives personified the ideals of volunteerism. Bill Delozier joined DTRS as a member of the Junior Squad at age 15. Over the next 30 years he devoted over 35,000 hours of his life as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to this county. Jeff Simpson joined DTRS as an adult but was serving as the Junior Squad Advisor when he decided to offer his EMT skills to assist people injured at the World Trade Center." Jeff was found in the aftermath after being seen helping the victims after the planes crashed in New York. "They both are examples of the DTRS motto We Serve to Save".
Both men served under the tenure of Rescue Chief Randy Baum, who spent countless hours over the past years coordinating the major details of the design, construction, and delivery of the new station.
Many were in attendance to hear dignitaries from the Prince William County Board of Supervisors past and present. Also present were guest speakers Bev Delozier, mother of Bill and Jeff Simpson's widow and three children.
As DTVFD Chief Miles Young stated, "This is a special day for Prince William County and to our community". He further identified the three organizations that will work shoulder to shoulder to diligently respond to the Fire and EMS service mission.
Station 23 quietly went in service at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning and was fully staffed by volunteers. Uniquely, its personnel were already responding to a local emergency call that came in at 5:58 a.m.
Many thanks go out to all that made this a special day and who made this station a reality.
News Article: http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2010/sep/12/fire-station-opens-sept-11-anniversary-ar-502023/
(Photos: M. Young & Staff) |
