Hampton is rescue squad's first female captain

"I'm real new to this, so there's a lot I'm learning day by day," said Janet Hampton, who became the Alleghany County Rescue Squad's first female captain Oct. 8. She said of her predecessors, "I've got a lot of good captains to stand up to....

"I consider myself still just another squad member. I don't consider myself a higher rank than any other member."

The squad was started in 1969.

One of the things Hampton enjoys most about the squad is the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie. "You meet a lot of nice people in here. We consider each other family," she said. "Everybody's got somebody he can lend an ear to. We help each other through the hard times and stressful times." Although born in Maryland, Hampton has lived in Alleghany County almost all her life. "I moved away a couple of times, but I always come back to Sparta. I love it here," she said.

She has worked cleaning offices and waiting tables. She joined Alleghany EMS and the rescue squad the same year, 1990.

Hampton was employed at Northside Drive-In when her brother, Franklin Hash, who was working at EMS, nudged her into taking an EMS class.

"When I finished the class, they had two openings and I applied and got one," she said.

Hash is also still a member of the rescue squad. "Sometimes I don't know whether to hug his neck or kill him," Hampton said with a smile.

She started with EMS as a basic EMT and became a paramedic in 1999. While the rescue squad itself is all-volunteer, a number of the members also work with EMS.

Rescue squad members have achieved different levels of training, with paramedics being the most extensively trained. The Alleghany Rescue Squad has 26 members, said Hampton: 15 paramedics, three intermediates, four basics and four first responders.

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