Squad History

Celebrating 58 years of service to Northern Mecklenburg County (1959-2017)



Picture from 1960's Training at Airport    The North Mecklenburg Volunteer Rescue Squad was founded in 1959 in the town of Huntersville, North Carolina. The squad was established and staffed by members of the northern Mecklenburg County communities in order to provide ambulance and rescue services to northern Mecklenburg County including the communities of Cornelius, Davidson, Gilead, Long Creek, and Huntersville.

  In the late 1960s, the Squad formed an additional organization known as North Mecklenburg Ambulance Service. The ambulance service was a paid organization providing daytime EMS and rescue coverage during the daytime, while the volunteer rescue squad continued to provide coverage during during the evening and night hours.

  In the early 1970s, the ambulance service split from the rescue squad and moved to the town of Cornelius, taking the trailer, the Squad's original building located of Highway 21, with them. The ambulance service would provide EMS and rescue coverage for areas of Cornelius, while the North Mecklenburg Volunteer Rescue Squad continued to cover the Gilead and Huntersville areas.

Newspaper Clipping about NMRS getting new building  The early 1980s saw the dissolution of the North Meck Ambulance Service. The responsibility of EMS response now became part of Mecklenburg County EMS (MEDIC). The Squad continued to provide first responder EMS and rescue services for the northern portions of the county.

  In 1996, Mecklenburg County EMS became Mecklenburg EMS Agency, better known as MEDIC. MEDIC is currently responsible for all EMS transportation and pre-hospital emergency care in Mecklenburg County. In 1999, the fire departments in Gilead and Cornelius added EMS and rescue services to their programs, and began providing fire and rescue services for their respective areas; the Davidson Fire Department did the same in 2003 and in 2007 Long Creek VFD started running first responder in the small portion of Huntersville they cover and other portions of unincorporated Mecklenburg County that Cooks VFD and NMRS used to cover. The North Mecklenburg Volunteer Rescue Squad continues to provide emergency medical and rescue services for the Eastern side of the town of Huntersville and portions of northern unincorporated Mecklenburg County. Even though North Meck Rescue does not cover near the amount of land area that we once covered- We still run more First Responder / Rescue Calls than any other County department.

After 58 years of service to Northern Mecklenburg County, the North Meck Rescue Squad will run its last call June 30, 2017. We plan to transition into a charitable foundation so we can still benefit members of the community.

North Meck Rescue 55th Anniversary Article

Historic Squad Pictures
(click to enlarge)

Picture believed to be from a 1960's Training event at the Airport
Old Training Picture
Old Rescue Picture, Training Behind Old Station
Old Rescue Picture



Historic Patches from NCAREMS.org
(click to enlarge)

North Meck Ambulance Service Patch
Old MEDIC Patch
Charlotte Life Saving Patch
Old Char-Meck Ambulance Service Patch
Current MEDIC Patch




Last Modified June 1, 2017

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