Hepburn Township Volunteer Fire Co. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

The Hepburn Township Volunteer Fire Company will discontinue its basic life-saving (BLS) and ambulance service, they announced in a press release Monday morning. The service will cease in 90 days.

“We don’t have enough personnel to be able to staff it, because it takes two people to operate,” company Chief Nathan Confer said, when reached for comment by the Sun-Gazette this afternoon.

“We currently only have six EMTs in the department, and everybody works,” he said.

The move comes three years after Hepburn Township joined with Lycoming, Lewis, McIntyre and Cogan House townships to create a paid system in which the five would work together to cover emergencies.

When that contract came up for review in February, one of the townships did not want to continue the arrangement.

“We were trying to reorganize it, but it just kind of fell apart, so the townships are working together to figure out how they want to cover that EMS need,” the chief said.

Confer stressed that it is only the ambulance service that will be discontinued.

“We do have what’s called the QRS portion, which is a quick response service,” Confer explained.

“We can do the same thing that we did on the ambulances, we just don’t transport anymore,” he said.

“Otherwise, the fire department’s providing manpower on those calls. They go and assist, they help out the EMS crew do whatever they need them to do within reason, and then they go on their way,” Confer said.

EMS transports for Hepburn and Lycoming townships will predominantly be handled by Old Lycoming Township, as well as Susquehanna Regional EMS, while the other half of Hepburn Township will be covered by Loyalsock Township.

“When they’re busy, it could be the one out of South Williamsport or the one at the hospital. And if they’re busy, an ambulance will come from either Old Lycoming, Loyalsock, Montoursville, Duboistown to cover our calls,” Confer explained.

In the event that all those companies are busy, surrounding communities will be tapped to respond, the chief said.

A new solution to the issue is currently being sought, Confer said.

“I can tell you that the supervisors are currently working on a plan. The five townships are working on solving the issue because EMS is a problem for all of us, and as township supervisors, it’s their responsibility to make sure fire, rescue and EMS are provided,” he said.

“It’s more of a pause at this point,” Confer said.

During the pause, however, the chief stressed that calls will go not unanswered.

“If someone calls 911, they are going to be taken care of. That does not change. That will not change,” he said.

“The deputy chief and I both want to make sure that we reiterate that we do have a QRS license. We do provide that when we have available EMTs or EMRs,” Confer stressed.

“We have firefighters who are CPR and AED trained, so they go and assist. They have in-house training. We train them how to use the backboards. We train them how to use litters, stair chairs and all that kind of stuff,” he said.

“So they go out and assist the MICU crews with gathering information, or getting the litter set up for them, or lifting patients and helping move patients or whatever they need to do. So it makes that job that much easier,” Confer said.