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Pa. officials end volunteer fire company’s paid ambulance service

The Hepburn Township Volunteer Fire Company stated the township supervisors dissolved the ambulance service due to a shortage of EMTs

HEPBURN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The Hepburn Township Volunteer Fire Company’s paid ambulance service in Lycoming County is permanently closing after township supervisors voted to dissolve it, stating a shortage of EMTs as the reason.

“I mean, it’s kind of upsetting,” EMS Captain Stephanie Eisenhart told WNEP. “Unfortunately, the volunteer world is kind of a dying breed, so with the service going away, I mean the paid service going away, it kind of limits like what we can do basically.”

One key limitation is that Hepburn EMS will no longer be able to transport patients to hospitals. Instead, they’ll assist alongside fire crews and depend on Mobile Intensive Care Units (MICUs) for patient transport.

Without a paid EMS service, ensuring enough EMTs are available to respond to calls becomes a significantly greater challenge for Hepburn Township.

“Now that the paid service is dissolved, we’re relying strictly on volunteers, and as I said, volunteers are a dying breed,” Eisenhart said. “I wish we had more people to run; we need more EMTs to run at this department because we only have a handful of us right now, and it’s tough.”

The closure begins in June.

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Bill Carey is the associate editor for FireRescue1.com and EMS1.com. A former Maryland volunteer firefighter, sergeant, and lieutenant, Bill has written for several fire service publications and platforms. His work on firefighter behavioral health garnered a 2014 Neal Award nomination. His ongoing research and writings about line-of-duty death data is frequently cited in articles, presentations, and trainings. Have a news tip? He can be reached at news@lexipol.com.