Copyright 2006 P.G. Publishing Co.
By NORM VARGO
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
Its vintage ambulance was plucked out of a scrap heap.
It was forced to recruit personnel to operate.
And it needed Sewickley Township residents to OK a 2-mill Emergency Aid Tax referendum for funding.
But Sewickley Township Community Ambulance Service, a group of volunteers and paid paramedics, has been up and running on its own since midnight last Saturday. That’s when Huntingdon Township Rescue 8 Squad’s agreement to provide emergency service to the mostly rural Westmoreland County municipality ended.
Rescue 8 took over the operation of the Sewickley ambulance unit four years ago. But when monthly operating losses mounted, officials decided last summer that the organization could not operate in Sewickley at a deficit. They said Rescue 8 lost $94,000 on the Sewickley operations over the first six months of 2005, and a six-figure year-end deficit is anticipated.
Sewickley supervisors originally were notified that Rescue 8 would close the Herminie base and halt providing emergency service on Oct. 16. Following often bitter negotiations, Rescue 8 extended the deadline to Dec. 31 to provide time for the Sewickley unit to reorganize.
Organizers faced a major problem. Rescue 8, which at first considered donating an ambulance to the Sewickley unit, decided not to do so after the talks.
“We were faced with a monumental problem. We needed an ambulance to begin operations and the organization had $800 in the bank,” said Greg Gorscak, president of the Sewickley organization.
“Somebody told us about an old, junk ambulance that was parked for years behind the Fort Allen Fire Hall in Hempfield Township,” Mr. Gorscak continued. “We looked at it, broken windows and all. It had been vandalized. It needed lots of work, but it started up. Fort Allen guys wanted to get rid of it. It’s a relic, but we took it. Without money, we had no other option.”
Fort Allen Fire Police Lt. Dale Preston, said the vintage ambulance “was a yard ornament in a driveway from 2000 to 2001.”
“The vehicle was donated to the fire company by a doctor who bought it at a repo auction. They owned it, but the fire police were going to operate it. But we never got enough money to make it work. It was moved to a spot behind the fire hall. It was parked there almost four years until Sewickley took it.”
According to Mr. Gorscak, the restoration of the 1990 ambulance with origins in Philadelphia cost “about $10,000.” Community donations and $500 from rescue members covered the cost.
“If our guys hadn’t dug deep into their pockets and done most of the work, the community wouldn’t have the security that comes with knowing dependable emergency service is available,” Mr. Gorscak said.
“Long hours of hard work and dedication by our guys made it happen,” said Chief Walt Lipinski. “That old ambulance is now the lifeblood of our operation.”
Last November residents overwhelmingly passed an Emergency Aid Tax referendum to reorganize and re-equip the unit. Chief Lipinski estimates the tax could generate approximately $109,000 annually.
Since the unit may not receive revenue until April or May, Sewickley supervisors have obtained a $50,000 tax anticipation loan to begin operations.
According to Mr. Lipinski, the unit’s operating budget for 2006 will be between $195,000 and $206,000, depending on paid staffing. The unit currently employs four paid paramedics among its 25 members, he said.
Chief Lipinski noted that the new Sewickley unit has a mutual aid agreement with neighboring ambulance organizations to provide back-up emergency service to the growing 29-square mile township. These include Rescue 8, Adamsburg Rescue 14 and West Newton-Rostraver.
“We still enjoy a good working relationship with Rescue 8. In fact, they gave us some furniture and equipment to get started. It has turned into a win-win situation for our communities,” Chief Lipinski said.
“Rescue 8 did not abandon Sewickley Township,” said Rescue 8 Chief Tom Arendas. “It just became too costly to run two ambulance operations. We intend to keep helping those guys to make it work.”