Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 14, 1995 TAG: 9509140097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLLINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Since that day when Summerlin and Reynolds agreed to team up to compete in the Super Bowl for rescue workers - a competition that highlights the annual conference of the International Rescue and Emergency Care Association - there's been no stopping them.
The duo won their third straight title at the association's conference in Nashville last month. The three-peat is unprecedented, they've been told by association officers.
Summerlin, the county's operations and public safety director, and Reynolds, field coordinator for the Western Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council, won their first title in the emergency medical treatment category of the competition in Richmond in 1993.
They drove to Orlando, Fla., last year and won their second.
"I guess you could say we work pretty good together," Reynolds said.
No argument there.
The two say they play off each other's strengths.
Summerlin, 36, started working at a Henry County rescue squad at the age of 14. He said he can assess a rescue situation and make decisions instantaneously.
Reynolds, 34, said he is more tuned in to the specific medical care a patient needs.
In addition to an extensive written test, the contest hinges on a team's performance in three simulated rescue situations - usually acted out inside a 9-by-9-foot square.
A 20-minute deadline for each simulation makes flawless teamwork a necessity. Points can be deducted for the most detailed of details - including a team member's step outside the 9-by-9 square.
Because judges and rescue scenarios change from year to year, a three-peat is difficult to achieve because no patterns emerge, said Steve Darling, the conference chairman and a paramedic in Toronto.
What makes Summerlin and Reynolds' triple even more extraordinary is their history.
Their winning chemistry isn't based on years of working or training together.
Both are volunteers with local rescue squads - Summerlin in Axton, Reynolds in Chatham - but they hadn't worked side by side until they began competing in the international competitions.
And since that time, they haven't exactly beaten each other's doors down to practice.
"We've probably gotten together one night since this whole thing started," Summerlin said.
This year in Nashville, they checked their equipment and talked some strategy - but they did it just a couple of hours before the competition started.
And weak their opponents are not.
Included among the 30 other teams in the EMT competition were Toronto, Canada - where an average of 1,000 emergency calls are fielded daily - and a rescue team that works on Exxon oil rigs off the Louisiana coast.
Most teams have to win local and state contests to qualify for the international competition, which includes four separate entries: emergency medical treatment, first response, paramedic, and heavy rescue.
Summerlin and Reynolds' winning EMT score this year was 4,670 out of a possible 5,690 points.
Reynolds also was honored for receiving the highest score on the EMT, first response and paramedic written tests.
Unlike Summerlin, Reynolds didn't get bitten by the rescue bug as a teen-ager. He said he started hanging out with Chatham Rescue Squad members more than a decade ago because the squad building had cable television - something he didn't have at home.
"If it wouldn't have been for HBO ...," he joked. "But seriously though, rescue work gets in your blood. I think it's one of the most rewarding things someone can do, and it's one of the best ways to give something back to your community."
Next September, the Southside rescue juggernaut will travel to the 1996 association conference in Las Vegas to seek their fourth title.
by CNB