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Vergennes Area Rescue Squad Introduces Two New Full Time Staff

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Tuesday June 14, 2016

By Cookie Steponaitis

It was the summer of 1969 when some dedicated Addison County people met to address the need for emergency medical care in Addison County and with a passion for helping people, specially outfitted hearts and very few volunteers, Vergennes Area Rescue Squad (VARS) was born. The group has grown over the years in size and technology and health practices have changed immensely.  VARS consists of community people who are dedicated to helping save lives and improving the quality of life of the people they serve.
     Vergennes Area Rescue Squad has recently brought into its ranks two full time advanced EMT’s Tony Korda and Tom Leeman who are joining the thirty five volunteers who make up the VARS dedicated staff. Tony Korda originally hails from southern California and grew up knowing he wanted to make a difference.  He walked by the West Hollywood Fire House on his way to school every day where he was frequently invited to stop in and see how things worked and pet the Fire Department Dalmatian. Tony grew up in some of America’s most turbulent times of change with bussing, riots and a huge increase in the homeless population and increased poverty. Tony and his whole family were involved in emergency care and medical pursuits. Dad Murray was a musician, Uncle Jack owned and ran Schwab’s Pharmacy chain and mom Joan was always helping out the Cancer Society and many other charitable functions.
    Upon looking back Korda credits two separate but equally powerful experiences that set him on the path of serving the public. On the way to get some candy at Uncle Jack’s pharmacy Tony and his sister passed a homeless man who was crying, agitated and sitting on the edge of a local foundation across from a chain restaurant Hamburger Hamlet. The man had tried to go in and purchase a meal and was thrown out. “He was as clean as he could possibly be,” recollected Korda. “My sister and I pooled our money and I went into the restaurant and bought him a burger, fries and soda. We gave it to him and refused to let him give us his money for it. The happiness we gave him that day was fleeting but it changed how I saw myself and my future. The second experience involved a fluke accident where I had a pocket full of gun caps and accidentally was caught on fire. My mother came running and put out the fire with an Army blanket. She threw me in the station wagon and headed for the UCLA Burn Center. While we were racing there we got stopped by a police officer, who once he understood the circumstances provided us an escort to the hospital. He picked me up and carried me into the hospital. We were told we were going to have to wait in the hall because no bed was available. He spotted a bed in an open room and informed them I was going to be in that bed and needed to be seen.” The two events put in motion for Korda a lifetime of service in both fire and rescue. Korda moved to Vermont with his parents and has been a member of the Orwell Fire Department for years. He also has worked with Middlebury Ambulance and Essex Rescue and with over thirty years of emergency service work, Korda still credits the desire to make a difference in someone’s life as the reason that the job is still a passion after all this time. “It really is the smiles, the thank you and seeing the people you serve as friends and family,” remarked Korda. “VARS really functions like a large family and it takes a lot of people to keep up and respond to the roughly 775 calls a year. We have people of all levels of experience and are looking for more.”
    VARS’ other new full time staff EMT came to the Green Mountain State to go to college. Tom Leeman was raised in a military family and moved seven or eight times as a child and joked that his older brother lived at twenty four different addresses before finishing high school. Leeman attended Lyndon State College while earning a Recreational Management degree, became a part of the Burke Mountain Ski Patrol and found his passion for helping others on his very first call. The incident involved a rather traumatic head injury for a teenager who Leeman found while off duty and out on the slopes. Notifying others, stabilizing the patient and assisting in his care until he entered surgery at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital gave Tom a window into how critical emergency care services could be. In addition to advancing his training, Leeman went on to work for Lyndon Rescue, Newport Ambulance and formally joined the VARS staff in May, 2016.
    When asked to share with the Voice readers something that would surprise them, Leeman chuckled and remarked, “It’s not like you see on the television shows. Not every emergency is trauma and the smaller routine calls are just as important. No matter what the service we provide, we want people to know we are here to help people. Whether we check someone out and they refuse transport, help lift someone or simply put their mind at ease with our coming to examine the situation we are here.”  Whether it is a lifestyle of full time service like Tony Korda and Tom Leeman or a volunteer who gives one night a week or twice a month, the services of VARS and other emergency groups provide a vital role in the lives of Addison County residents.
    With all of the changes in medicine and technology, the responsibilities and abilities to administer help have changed over the almost fifty years VARS has been in business. VARS member and officer Sarah Rivers McKirryher explains, “Emergency Medical Technicians can now with a doctor’s permission give a person in transport nitroglycerin tablets if they have a confirmed heart condition and scrip. Also Albuterol can be given and Zofran for nausea with doctor’s confirmation.” McKirryher went on to explain that VARS wants to introduce the community to both Korda and Leeman since they will be new faces to the public on call and on duty at VARS. “This fall we are planning on having an Open House and formal chance for the community to come and see both Tony and Tom and to learn what we are all about,” concluded McKirryher. “Many people think you have to be a fully trained person to serve on rescue and that is not the case. While we welcome all medical professionals to serve, we also have people come in and start at the beginning with CPR certification and begin to learn and serve.” People interested in learning more about serving and helping VARS should reach out to Sara McKirryher at [email protected] , Tony Korda at [email protected]  or Tom Leeman at [email protected].

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