County-wide Emergency Services Study Is Complete

A county-wide study of emergency services coordinated by the Franklin County Emergency Services Alliance is now complete. Results of the study provide an overview of staffing for the county’s fire stations and ambulance squads and help plan for future emergency service needs in Franklin County. All fire and emergency medical service (EMS) departments in every municipality participated.

“The full participation of our county’s fire and EMS departments has made this a comprehensive study. I’m hopeful that its results will be applied in order to provide needed support to our county’s most valuable assets—our emergency services,” said Franklin County Emergency Services Alliance President Shawn Corwell.

Franklin County’s population continues to increase while our emergency services volunteers are steadily decreasing. Though this imbalance between fire/EMS personnel and the rising demand for emergency services in our communities is a challenge, the quality of emergency services and response time in Franklin County has remained above average compared to counties across the state.

Initiated on April 11, 2019, the study examined current staffing, types of equipment and condition, finances, location of resources, response times, numbers of incidents, and more. Along with interviews of Fire/EMS service departments throughout the county, the community provided input during a series of public meetings.

Fire departments, EMS departments, and municipalities have the results of the study, which include 16 recommendations. The public can access the same information through the Franklin County Fire Chiefs Association website. 

The Franklin County Emergency Services Alliance thanks the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the Franklin County Commissioners, two private donors, and each municipality for their part in sponsoring this important study.

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