Future of fire, medical services decided

UPPER PROVIDENCE » The future of fire and emergency medical services in the township was decided Monday night with the adoption of a plan that will increase costs 18 percent, but the township insists will not raise taxes.

It calls for a new “centrally located” facility being built for both fire and medical services, a move to 12-hour shifts and a 13-percent increases in costs that officials say will not require a tax increase.

The township supervisors adopted two resolutions, one for the future of fire services and another for the future emergency medical services, each of which will set the stage for future growth and expansion in the next five years.

Although the fire service measures were adopted unanimously, there was controversy and a split vote about the emergency medical services plan, with two board members, Albert Vagnozzi and Phillip Barker, voting no.

Previously, Vagnozzi was vocal about the plan by the previous board to buy a new ambulance, a plan the newly elected five-member board rejected in February.

The township is served primarily by ambulance services from neighboring Trappe Ambulance, Friendship in Royersford and the Audubon station of Lower Providence EMS, which is out of service from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In recent years, supervisors have begun to voice concerns about ambulance response times in Upper Providence, which is 18 square miles. Although ambulance coverage is below the state minimum of 10 minutes from dispatch to arrival on scene, it does not match the township goal of eight minutes.

Since 2013, the township has seen a 20-percent increase in call volume, according to information Vagnozzi presented at the Jan. 16 supervisors meeting.

But Supervisors’ Chairman John Pearson said he wanted to take a more thorough look at the issues and “not just throw an ambulance at it.”

Monday’s resolution was the result of that thorough look.

Vagnozzi said he agreed with

everything about the medical services resolution, except the step to delay the purchase of a new ambulance and instead institute 24/7 paramedic coverage and purchase a vehicle for that purpose.

According to the township’s analysis, the ambulance option Vagnozzi favors is $21,000 more in the first year than the one adopted by the majority.

Conversely, after the first year, the annual operating costs for the option chosen by the majority will be $87,000 more, according to the analysis.

Vagnozzi also said “there is no doubt in my mind that the staff was bullied by people on this board to come up with this matrix and I’m shocked.”

Vagnozzi also said the cost of the plan will be borne entirely by Upper providence and not by other townships and boroughs which, he said, are not pulling their weight in terms of contributions to the local EMS providers.

“There is no doubt in my mind Upper Providence is subsidizing service in Phoenixville. Trappe (Ambulance) went to Limerick to ask for more money and they were told to come back at budget time,” he said.

Pearson said he wanted to pursue the option that is most helpful to the out-of-town ambulance services that provide service to Upper Providence and to neighboring towns, saying “I am not going to tell Trappe and Friendship (ambulance) how to run their business.”

Supervisors Laurie Higgins and Helen Calci read from written statements about their reasons for supporting the move.

Calci called it “a forwardthinking solution.”

“As conditions change, such as additional call volume, it warrant buying another ambulance, and we will look at that,” she said.

“This plan does not impact other agencies in a negative

way,” said Higgins. “We must try to look at solution that helps the most people, hurts the fewest people.”

Barker, who has worked in emergency services previously, said he is concerned the model laid out in the plans is no longer in use. “It was popular in the 1980s.”

The resolution calls for, among many things, setting up an advance life support responder 24 hours, seven days a week, and providing an equipped vehicle for the same with deployment from a centralized location within the township by Sept. 15.

By Oct. 1, the township is expected to finalize design and bid specifications for a new emergency services facility and “increase the EMS portion of the public safety levy to fund the ALS medic responder.”

When the facility is completed, the ALS medic responder will be based there.

The plan also calls for evaluating EMS call volume and statistics starting in February, 2019 “to determine when it may be appropriate to deploy an ALS ambulance.”

Before acting on that, Upper Providence will, in the next three-to-five years, “consider forming a committee of elected and appointed officials from Upper Providence Township, Trappe, Collegeville and Royersford Boroughs to explore ways to improve cost efficiencies and to develop a regional solution for providing emergency medical services.”

The fire services resolution, on the other hand, received unanimous support, despite the fact that the plan the resolution is based on calls for officials to “evaluate the viability of the Black Rock” fire station in Mont Clare.

It’s goal is to have “a minimum 10 qualified firefighters to respond to a fire emergency in 10 minutes or less 80 percent of

the time.” An analysis presented during the special meeting on April 4 predicted having daytime paid fire staff could reduce response time to about six minutes.

The plan includes, among other things, forming a joint township/Black Rock Volunteer Fire Company steering committee to integrate paid and volunteer firefighters.

Also on tap are locating the paid staff at the Oaks station and considering a volunteer stipend program to pay volunteers who stay in the station overnight to improve response time.

The new emergency services facility will also house firefighters as well as emergency medical personnel, according to the resolution, which shall act as the main hub of fire service delivery to Upper Providence Township.

The township also plans, within 36 months, to transition paid fire and emergency medical personnel to 12-hour shifts and hire two full-time career firefighter/EMTs.

No estimates for the cost of building that new station were presented.

On the other hand, the township estimates that change to 12-hour shifts will increase costs by 13 percent, adding $206,841 to this year’s budget of $1.5 million.

The township will also “develop a plan for the disposition of the Mont Clare Fire Station and support Black Rock Volunteer Fire Company in evaluating and making needed upgrades to the Oaks Fire Station.”

Similar to the medical plan, the township also hopes within five years to form a committee of officials from Trappe, Collegeville, Royersford and Upper Providence to explore cost-efficiencies “and to develop a regional solution for providing fire services,” with an eye toward forging “a realistic, regional fire services blue print

by 2025.”

Taken together, the fire and EMS plans are projected to cost $304,041 more than the current budget — and 18.8 percent increase, according to the township’s analysis.

Despite an increase in costs

of $138,000 under this plan, the township analysis notes that no tax increase will be necessary because of a re-allocation of the “public safety levy” with less money going to police, and more to fire and ambulance services.