An elite group of rescue-squad members has been in Cumberland County for over 50 years; their operations are funded by citizens and organizations.

The Cumberland County Rescue Squad is composed of 45 full-time members, five junior rescue-squad members and eight vehicles. They also have five ATVs that are used in the event of an emergency in the woods or rugged terrain. The squad also has three boats that aid in water rescues or the unfortunate event of a body recovery. All these resources are used in Cumberland County, as well as in other counties when called upon.

The Cumberland County Rescue Squad responded to the Great Smoky Mountains when the horrible fires hit in 2016. The squad sent three members there to help for three weeks.

The Cumberland County Rescue Squad was particularly busy at home last year (2017) in searching for missing people and assisting other agencies in need of help. This year, crew members responded twice in 45 days to the Catoosa area to recover missing people.

The Cumberland County Rescue Squad is a 100-percent non-profit organization that relies upon donations. All donations to the squad go to help send their members to training and to buy more equipment to help others in their time of need. Donations are their major method of funding all their expenses. The squad receives funds from the county, City of Crossville and the United Fund, but that is not enough to cover the cost of insurance, gas and utilities. The squad is looking to update and replenish its equipment and provide further training so they may have a safer, faster and more-effective response.

Some of their responsibilities include:

• Search and rescue of lost persons
• Swift-water rescue
• High-angle cave and mountain rescue
• Assist in transporting dialysis patients, key hospital employees and nurses during inclement weather
• Emergency off-road ambulance
• Assist county and city law enforcement, fire department and other agencies when needed
• Assist surrounding counties
• Community CPR instruction
• Dive, search and rescue

Contributions are tax deductible and maybe mailed to:

Cumberland County Emergency & Rescue Squad
P.O. Box 964
Crossville, Tennessee 38557

For more information, contact Captain Bob Sherrill at (931) 200-0059 or First Lt. Jesse Hardt at (931) 200-0699