VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Any time you're in trouble, they show up and save the day. And the kicker is - they're doing it all out of the kindness of their hearts.
The Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue community is the largest one in the nation.
You typically meet them on a bad day, when you're in trouble, in pain or need help.
"For that one bad day they're having, we try to make it a good day for them," says Tony Pirrone, a squad member.
The squads mission is to make one of your worst moments, a little bit better.
"You do get excited that you're going to get to a situation that you know you're going to be helping that person," says John Doub, the station Chief. "It's all about getting there first to stop the pain. I think everyone who does this they're most important job is being able to stop the pain in someones life."
There are over a thousand volunteer rescue squad members in the city of Virginia Beach, making it the largest group in the country.
And volunteer is the key word. None of these men and women get a paycheck for these 12 hour shifts.
"A hug and a kiss from a little old lady we just picked up is the best paycheck you can get," says Pirrone. "You can't put a dollar sign on it, you just can't. "It's something that we do because it's inside."
And that seems to be a common feeling for these men and women. Because they're all volunteers, most have other jobs but find the time to get in here whenever they can.
We've got doctors, lawyers, I own a truck dealership," says Doub. "We have car dealers, we have young students that are in college, but it is all walks of life and it makes it very interesting."
"We have a good time. We enjoy each others company. You know we show up and we deal with people in pain, we see things no one wants to see and we talk it through. We see death, we talk that through. We rationalize it. But the camaraderie the station is a family."
