August 12, 2010. The Duke of Wellington once famously said that ‘Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted’. With that in mind Operations command staff spent a very early and humid morning touring potential accident ‘Hot spots’ within the James River Park system. The River park cuts the city of Richmond in two and offers areas of outstanding natural beauty as well as the only Type V White Water rapids in the center of an American City.
The tour, organized by RAA’s Captain Wallace Robinson, was led by Ralph White, James River Manager and the systems Senior Naturalist. Vehicle access points, hazardous locations, features of the river system and its spectacular rapids were all discussed and patient evacuation options examined. In the summer season, RAA joins the Fire Department in conducting river rescues, searches and patient evacuations weekly as the population of the Metro Richmond area all descends to the James River Park system to be on or near the water. Capt Robinson said ‘it was great to get the guys out into the river system this morning to understand the detailed geography and access and egress points, this was definitely time well spent and will assist in our customary world class EMS delivery in the future’
