By David O’Connor
Intelligencer Journal/New Era
LANCASTER, Pa. — A possible “safety gap” for Manheim Township residents has been filled by the township’s ambulance association.
Starting on Aug. 1, a two-person crew will be added during daytime hours “to cover those times when we are extra busy,” Joe Lees, president of the ambulance association’s board of trustees, said Tuesday.
The ambulance association already provides around-the-clock coverage.
“Because when the tone goes off, we want to be set to go and ready to help people,” Lees said.
The crew’s addition was discussed at Monday night’s Manheim Township commissioners meeting by Rick Kane, the township’s fire chief.
The commissioners and Kane have met with ambulance association leaders in recent weeks to discuss joint projects between the two agencies, along with improving communications between the fire and ambulance services.
Township fire leaders recently had offered to post an extra ambulance at a township fire station to help the ambulance association.
But Manheim Township leaders, after meeting with the ambulance association’s top officers, said that township fire and rescue officials will not need to put that ambulance unit in service.
“The ambulance has agreed to increase their staffing and take that burden on themselves,” Kane told the township commissioners.
Ambulance and fire department leaders also plan to resume monthly meetings and work on joint projects.
“We are very comfortable, in just a short amount of time, with what has transpired in the last eight weeks” between the fire and ambulance agencies, Kane told the commissioners.
“The end result is a better, more solid relationship between the fire rescue and the ambulance,” he added.
Fire crews from the township’s three fire stations - Southern Manheim Township, Neffsville and Eden - will continue to provide extra manpower to the ambulances on priority medical calls, Kane said.
The ambulance organization, based at 1820 Municipal Drive, has been serving the township since 1971 without tax support.
With a budget of $1.1 million a year, it has 50-plus employees and several volunteers, Lees said.
While it receives some grant money, it relies almost entirely on donations and funds it gets from its subscription drive, plus fees for when it bills for services, Lees said.
The ambulance association also has named a new operations chief, Jeff Mumma, who steps into the shoes of the late David Smith.
Smith, the ambulance association’s longtime operations chief, died earlier this month at age 56.
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