The former Jeannette EMS on Monday saw the latest in a series of liquidation events with the sale of four emergency response vehicles. The longtime provider closed a year ago.

It’s an issue being faced by EMS agencies across the state. Officials at Eureka Community Ambulance Service in Tarentum said last week that the 88-year-old agency likely will close or significantly curtail operations by January because of funding issues.

More than a dozen EMS agencies have closed in recent months, including Seneca Area in Indiana Township, which shut down in January after 28 years.

The sale of two SUVs and two ambulances was approved Monday by a federal judge overseeing the Jeannette EMS bankruptcy case.

The four vehicles were sold to Braddock Auto Group Partners in East Pittsburgh for $23,500 after there were no other bidders at a hearing on the sale.

“This is being sold as one lot, all four vehicles,” said attorney Kevin Petak who represented Jeannette EMS.

There was one other interested party, but they backed out earlier in the day, he said.

Jeannette EMS shut down abruptly after 63 years in business. Officials previously pointed to insufficient funding and low insurance reimbursement rates as reasons for the closure on July 3. City officials had hours notice to get a plan in place to continue ambulance service for Jeannette residents.

Sold at the hearing Monday were:

• 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

• 2003 Dodge Durango.

• two 2006 Ford ambulances.

“Most of these vehicles are aged,” Petak said.

All of them were free of liens. There were no objections to the sale.

Any money left over after paying costs related to the sale and legal fees will be put into an estate account, according to court filings.

Two ambulances previously were turned over to Irwin EMS in return for that agency assuming the $140,000 debt from a USDA loan. Jeannette EMS filed to liquidate its holdings under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code in September.

Then, it had $834,000 in assets, including its ambulance base on South Sixth Street. In court filings, the agency listed emergency medical services equipment worth $300,000 and $48,000 in vehicles as assets.

KeyBank filed a mortgage foreclosure action in July in Westmoreland County Court claiming the ambulance station defaulted on repayments of a $275,000 line of credit. A judgment against Jeannette EMS was issued July 13 to pay $339,904 to KeyBank for outstanding principal and interest and late fees on the line of credit, according to court filings.

Mutual Aid EMS now covers Jeannette.

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