We’re given to understand that Stanley Wise (1900 – 1985), nine years old, saw two men capsize a canoe in the Roanoke River. Many people were present and watched the accident – but none had the toolsor expertise to attempt a rescue. Both men died.
In 1928, with nine colleagues from the Norfolk & Western Railway, Wise started a rescue squad – with communications support from the city of Roanoke; a local funeral home provided an ambulance.
The wikipedia reference links to Ronanoke’s Volunteer Rescue Muesum
and to Pat Ivey’s EMT Rescue which title is new to us (ISBN-0-7592-4464-2), but we’re going to see if we can track down a copy.