West Deer EMS has landed a permanent substation in Indiana Township which is expected to reduce call times for emergency responses, officials said.
Director Bill Humes said the move is a boon to his service, which responds to about 3,200 calls a year. That number is up 42% over last year, when West Deer shared responses to the western portion of Indiana Township with Seneca Area EMS.
Seneca closed Jan. 1 after 28 years of service, and West Deer EMS assumed total responsibility.
“When we took over that large portion, we knew we needed to get an ambulance inside the township,” Humes said.
A section of Town Hall, at 3710 Saxonburg Blvd., will be retrofitted to house a second crew to supplement staff at the primary station on East Union Road in West Deer.
“We wanted to provide a (full-time) satellite host site in the town hall,” Indiana Township Manager Dan Anderson said. “We are grateful for their service and want to better accommodate them.”
There will be two shifts that work from the satellite station to better serve what Humes called a high-volume, high-population area of the township.
He said the call volume typically drops overnight, so calls will generate out of West Deer for those.
“With the lack of traffic overnight, we can keep the response times under 11 minutes from our station in West Deer,” he said. “That’s a lot tougher during the day.”
West Deer EMS has 31 paid members, 12 of whom are full time.
Humes said his group has been able to park an ambulance at the town hall since May but only part time.
The perk is having a presence in the township, but the downside is that crew members only are able to park there during hours when town hall is open.
“That means no weekends, no holidays,” Humes said.
Anderson said both sides researched options with the goal of a full-time presence and improved response times.
Last week, the township was awarded a $41,000 state grant to transform the second station.
Funding came through the Department of Community and Economic Development and was among $1.2 million distributed through the Municipal Assistance Program to 19 counties for planning and emergency services improvements.
The money will go toward renovating an unfinished area of the township building, which at 44,000 square feet was the former longtime home of The Bradley Center, a residential program for children with trauma or mental health issues.
“This space is adjacent to the police station entrance and will provide a centrally located satellite site,” Anderson said.
Work is expected to start in January and take several months.
Humes said crews will be able to access the area at any time with a key fob. The EMS also will be able to store equipment, chargers and other items without having to restock at the East Union Road facility.
“This will greatly improve our ability to adjust and lengthen hours to be available in the township,” Humes said.