Members of the Nansemond-Suffolk Volunteer Rescue Squad appeared at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting to set the record straight on accusations contained in a report from Fire Chief Cedric Scott earlier this month.

Longtime member Rusty Hundley said nearly everything in the report was false or misleading, but he had limited time on Wednesday to address only a few issues.

“I could not let the accusations that were leveled against our organization at the last meeting stand,” he said.

The issues between the Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue and the volunteer squad began to be aired in public on Aug. 21, when members of the rescue squad appeared at the City Council meeting to speak against a plan by Scott to relegate the squad to second-run status — meaning the squad would respond to calls only when the city’s ambulances were unavailable.

The squad said the move would give them only about 10 percent of the calls they currently answer, which would cause volunteers to leave.

Scott fired back with a lengthy report at the Sept. 4 meeting, saying there had been issues with communication and accountability surrounding the squad. He said the squad had not covered its station on Labor Day weekend, allowed a member to act inappropriately in a supervisory capacity, miscommunicated with dispatchers during calls and other errors.

Hundley said Wednesday the squad was not expected to cover its station on Labor Day, and provided emails to prove it. Scott said in a conversation after his last report that he had been referring to Sunday of that weekend, not Monday.

Hundley also said the supervisor who allegedly acted outside his authority has been a supervisor in the rescue squad for eight years but simply has not completed his local boards yet.

But the “most insulting” thing said two weeks ago, Hundley said, was the implication from a City Council member that volunteers are not as experienced as city staff.

Hundley said volunteers must take all the training and certification that career staff must take. Many of their volunteers are physicians or paid paramedics in other jurisdictions for their day jobs, he said.

“Maybe in the future, you could spend a little bit less time talking about us, and a little more time talking with us,” Hundley said.

Speaking after Hundley, volunteer squad member Lawrence Daniels said the situation has left unanswered questions — for one, how Scott will fill 3,000 man-hours without costing taxpayers any extra money.

“The volunteer system has become inadequate in and of itself to meet these needs,” Daniels said of the city’s growing requirements for emergency services. “But there is room for volunteers.”

In response to a later question from City Councilman Charles Parr, Scott said the report stands as given.

Councilmen Mike Duman and Curtis Milteer hoped aloud that the volunteers would continue to serve.

“My prayer is that we all keep the lines of communication open,” Duman said.