Julian Stanley Wise

Last updated January 29, 2024 • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Julian Stanley Wise (1900 – July 22, 1985), was the founder of the Roanoke Life Saving and First Aid Crew, the first volunteer rescue squad in the United States.

In 1909, Wise was walking along the banks of the Roanoke River in Roanoke, Virginia, when he witnessed two men capsize a canoe in deep, rough water. Though many onlookers saw the accident, none of them had the equipment or training to offer much in the way of help, and both men drowned. Wise later said of the incident, "I vowed that never again would I watch a man die when he could have been saved if only those around him knew how."

That incident stayed with Wise, and on May 28, 1928, Wise and nine coworkers at the Norfolk and Western Railway began the first volunteer rescue squad. Wise proved the worth of the squad by staging a mock rescue in 1929, sinking a 250-pound dummy in a pond and calling out the rescue squad. The city of Roanoke, impressed by the demonstration, agreed to provide communication support. A local funeral home donated an ambulance, and Wise's vision became a reality.

By 1966, when the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was passed in the United States, thousands of rescue squads had sprung up throughout the United States and elsewhere in the world. With the passage of the Highway Safety Act, training standards for Emergency Medical Technicians were enacted.

Julian Wise died in Roanoke on July 22, 1985, at the age of 85. Julian Wise said looking back on his life in volunteer rescue. “All we need to do is reach out and there are people to respond." Wise died on a July afternoon in 1985, not unlike the one during which he’d watched two men drown seventy six years earlier. In one of those dreamy coincidences, five hours after he took his last breath, a call came into Roanoke’s 911 system about a thirteen-year-old boy who’d gone down in the river. Volunteers rushed to the scene, found the boy unconscious, and in minutes had him breathing again. That, as every volunteer will tell you, is what it’s all about.^[1]

On June 8, 1991, The Julian Stanley Wise Foundation opened a volunteer rescue museum in Roanoke. Julian Wise's widow, Ruth Light Wise, was present at the opening.

Related Research Articles

Covington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,737, making it the second-least populous city in Virginia. It is surrounded by Alleghany County, of which it is also the county seat. Located at the confluence of Jackson River and Dunlap Creek, Covington is one of three cities in the Roanoke Regional Partnership. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Covington with Alleghany county for statistical purposes.

Botetourt County is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains.

The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for fire suppression and fire prevention, and is a major provider of EMS services in New York City. Beyond fire suppression and EMS, the FDNY is responsible for a broad range of services, including technical rescue, CBRN defense, and structural collapse response and analysis. The FDNY is equipped with a wide variety of general-purpose and specialized Vehicles,Tools and Equipment to serve its varied missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lifeguard</span> Profession

A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/AED first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on requirements of their particular venue. In some areas, lifeguards are part of the emergency services system to incidents and in some communities, lifeguards may function as the primary EMS provider.

James Lindsay Almond Jr. was an American lawyer, state and federal judge and Democratic party politician. His political offices included as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 6th congressional district (1946-1948), 26th Attorney General of Virginia (1948-1957) and the 58th Governor of Virginia (1958-1962). As a member of the Byrd Organization, Almond initially supported massive resistance to the integration of public schools following the United States Supreme Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education, but when Virginia and federal courts ruled segregation unconstitutional, Almond worked with the legislature to end massive resistance.

Lee Mirecki was a 19-year-old United States Navy Seaman Recruit from Appleton, Wisconsin, who was killed by drowning during a "sharks and daisies" military rescue training exercise on March 2, 1988. His death became a cause célèbre among those campaigning against bullying in military training regimes. As a result of his death a number of procedures and guidelines within the Navy's training programs were changed. He is cited by name in the Navy documentation supporting these changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lifesaving</span> Act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid

Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue; however, it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. Lifesaving also refers to sport where lifesavers compete based on skills, speed and teamwork. Lifesaving activities specialized in oceanic environment is called surf lifesaving or coastal lifesaving.

Hardy is an unincorporated community in southwestern Bedford County and northeastern Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The community lies along State Route 634 and is approximately nine miles southeast of Roanoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Tech Police Department</span>

The Virginia Tech Police Department (VTPD) is a nationally accredited police department with jurisdiction over Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The departments original accreditation with CALEA was awarded on November 18, 1995 and the department has continued with re-accreditation. In November 2015, the department met "gold standard" and also won CALEA's "Accreditation with Excellence" award.

Thaxton is an unincorporated community in western Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The community is located along U.S. Route 460 between Bedford and Montvale. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Caldwell Butler</span> American politician

Manley Caldwell Butler was an American lawyer and politician widely admired for his integrity, bipartisanship and courage. A native of Roanoke, Butler served his hometown and wider community first as a member of the Republican Party in the Virginia General Assembly (1962–1972) and later the United States House of Representatives (1972–1983).

Moneta is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The community is located along Route 122 between the towns of Bedford and Rocky Mount. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Watts</span> Sunderland sailor and diver

Henry "Harry" Watts was a Sunderland sailor and diver, who rescued over 40 people from drowning during his lifetime – and assisted in the rescue of another 120 people.

Glen Wilton is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 129 at the 2020 census. The CDP is located along the James River, between Eagle Rock and Iron Gate. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGBA) is a United States law named after Virginia Graeme Baker, who died after sustaining a pool suction-drain injury in June 2002, when the suction from a spa drain entrapped her under the water. It is incorporated as Title 14 of the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This act became enforceable law on December 19, 2008.

Chamblissburg is an unincorporated community in southwestern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. It lies along State Route 24, east of Stewartsville. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Water safety refers to the procedures, precautions and policies associated with safety in, on, and around bodies of water, where there is a risk of injury or drowning. It has applications in several occupations, sports and recreational activities.

The Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services is the 911 EMS provider for Virginia Beach, Virginia. Virginia Beach is the largest city in the United States with a volunteer based EMS system. Since the 1940s Virginia Beach has offered free pre-hospital emergency services through 10 volunteer rescue squads supported by 1,100+ volunteers throughout the city. Virginia beach EMS has also been a leader in a variety of pre-hospital technologies including 12-lead transmission,EZ-IO technology and therapeutic hypothermia,rapid sequence induction and intubation (RSII),video laryngoscope,end tidal CO₂ monitoring,S T Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) and Stroke programs and community CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR),among others. These programs and more have contributed to the 36% cardiac arrest survival rate (2012).

The Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad was established in 1950 as an all-volunteer EMS agency providing free service to a community of approximately 55,000 residents, including half of Montgomery County, Virginia, and the Town of Blacksburg. The squad has about 120 members, including community members with full-time jobs, as well as high school and college students.

Stewartsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 533. The CDP is located along State Route 24, between Vinton and Chamblissburg. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.

References

↑ "History". VAVRS - Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

"EMT Rescue", by Pat Ivey ( ISBN 0-7592-4464-2)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "History". VAVRS - Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[1]