Changes to Hempfield's EMS underway, Rescue 14 to close next week

Rescue 14 EMS in Adamsburg will officially close next week as part of the station’s merger with Greensburg-based Mutual Aid Ambulance Service.

Hempfield fire Chief Tony Kovacic confirmed the entity will stop responding to calls on April 1, when Mutual Aid will take over.

Township leaders also are in the process of removing Jeannette EMS following a January vote from supervisors. At the time, township manager Jason Winters attributed the vote to officials “looking at the EMS provider as a whole for the township.” Mutual Aid will take over the coverage area, which includes parts of North Hempfield, High Park and Grapeville.

There is no timeline for when the transition with Jeannette EMS will take place. Once it’s complete, however, Mutual Aid will be the primary ambulance provider in the township.

Leaders of Rescue 14, which covers the western side of Hempfield as well as Adamsburg and Arona boroughs, announced its closure last month. Don Thoma, operations manger, attributed the closure to employee retention, a low number of ambulance subscriptions and decreased reimbursement from commercial insurers.

Thoma said the service responded to about 1,200 calls per year.

When the entity shutters, Mutual Aid will position a 24-hour ambulance at the Rescue 14 station at 470 Edna Road. Active ambulance subscriptions from Rescue 14 for 2020-21 are being honored by Mutual Aid.

“That transition is very apparent and very transparent,” Kovacic said. “They’ve been very great with letting us know the steps along the way.”

As part of other changes in Hempfield’s emergency services, Luxor Volunteer Fire Department station last weekend answered its last emergency call as it merged with nearby Bovard Fire Department.