Our roots begin with the volunteer organizations for the northern and southern halves of the county.
Orange County Rescue Squad (OCRS) that was formed on June 13, 1968. Once chartered the rescue squad secured the building at 118 North Churton St. in Hillsborough as its first base station. The rescue squad began with 31 volunteers who were trained in Red Cross Basic First Aid and utilized a fleet of a donated vehicles. These vehicles included a laundry truck (which served as a rescue truck), a donated 1955 Cadillac donated by Butner Rescue Squad (affectionately known as Maude and used as an ambulance), and a 14ft boat. On Jan 1, 1969 the OCRS began providing all ambulance services to northern Orange County. The earliest known paid EMS employees in Orange County are John Jeffries and WC Dawkins were hired on 7/16/1980.