VIDEO: The Staunton Fire and Rescue Department is meeting the deaf community halfway.
The department invited the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind (VSDB) to help the fire and rescue squads better communicate with the deaf community in Staunton.
“Having to write back and forth with pen and paper isn’t doing them justice,” said Savannah Snider, Staunton firefighter and organizer of the new inclusion and equity addition. “They deserve the basic communication skills from us. No one calls 911 when they are having a good day.”
Virginia Beach, the course instructor, has been with the VSDB for five years. She said she was delighted Staunton Fire and Rescue reached out. “They asked me if I could teach this class, and I was thrilled with that task,” Beach said. “I was like, ‘Wow, Staunton firefighters value communication access.’”