NOTICE: THE FOLLOWING IS AN OPINION OF THE WEBMASTER. THE DAMASCUS TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HAS NOT PRESENTED AN OFFICIAL OPINION.

This county, as well as nearly every other county in every state of this country, is suffering from a huge decline in volunteers and even paid fire and EMS personnel. In recent years three ambulance corps have folded, and three others are very often unavailable for emergency response due to staffing shortages. Even the paid ambulances are facing staffing shortages and cannot fulfill their contractual obligations, putting an even greater load on the volunteers to respond far outside of their own coverage areas.

Fire companies are requesting several other companies for mutual aid assistance for routine calls just for manpower, tying up apparatus and manpower from other companies and keeping them from providing coverage in their own areas. Remaining ambulances and fire trucks are forced to provide emergency services as far as the other side of the county, and all out of the designated coverage areas, leaving their own areas without ambulance or fire coverage.
Something has to change, and soon. The people in this area pay to help the survival of the ambulance and fire companies, both with small tax amounts and voluntary donations, and they deserve to have the emergency services available to help them in their time of need.

Our Fire and Ambulance services need help just to keep up with our own calls. The other municipalities have to go out and pound the pavement to recruit personnel, or end up waiting up to an hour for an ambulance or fire truck.

Each municipality is charged with providing emergency services. Damascus Township is doing it’s share, and more. It’s long past time for the others to step up. It’s time the responsible people stop covering for those who don’t meet their obligations, because that is just allowing them to just slide by.