By Christine Lee
The Times-Tribune
DALTON, Pa. — The Dalton Fire Company has stopped providing ambulance services to the borough and surrounding townships because of a lack of volunteer emergency medical technicians.
Company officials informed the state Department of Health they would no longer offer the service as of Feb. 14, according to a legal notice published this week in The Times-Tribune.
Lack of volunteers led to the decision earlier this month, company President Justin Sturdevant said Thursday.
“We don’t have the EMS staffing to do it,” he said.
The Clarks Summit Fire Company is providing basic life support ambulance service to Dalton borough, and Glenburn, La Plume, Waverly and West Abington townships, as of late last week. The company has provided mutual aid to the Dalton Fire Company for several years.
Sturdevant said the fire company received 300 ambulance calls a year, representing 75% of all calls.
Dalton isn’t alone in dealing with losing the ambulance service. From 2021 to 2024, the number of EMS agencies in Pennsylvania declined by 4%, from 1,259 to 1,205, according to the state Department of Health.
“It’s a national issue with EMS staffing,” Sturdevant said. “It’s everywhere. There are multiple fire companies that every year you see get rid of their ambulance service.”
The Dalton Fire Company, which has provided ambulance service since the 1950s, went from as many as 20 EMTs 20 years ago to just two this year, he said. Both are also trained as firefighters and remain with the company. The fire company has struggled to get EMTs for the last few years.
Sturdevant, who has been the Dalton Fire Company president for 14 years, said with certifications and training, being an EMT can be difficult, particularly for those with families where both parents work.
“Everyone’s busy with family,” he said.
With so few EMTs, there were many times the ambulance wasn’t in service to respond to a call. When that happened, the call would be transferred to the Clarks Summit Fire Company, Sturdevant said, adding response times were never delayed.
They plan to sell the fire company’s one ambulance, which he estimates costs between $20,000 and $30,000 a year to maintain, with proceeds going to the fire company.
Sturdevant said while it’s disappointing to see the ambulance service stop, the company said doing so was in residents’ best interest. The response from Clarks Summit will be better, he said, because the fire company has paid EMTs.
“The coverage is always there,” Sturdevant said.
The fire company assured residents in the notice that they will continue to receive ambulance service from the Clarks Summit Fire Company and fire coverage from the Dalton Fire Company, asking them to call 911 if they have an emergency.
“We look forward to a continued collaborative relationship with them as they continue providing coverage for Dalton Borough, Glenburn Township, La Plume Township, Waverly Township and West Abington Township,” it read. “It has been an honor and a privilege and continues to be for Dalton Fire Company to serve our community in their time of need.”
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