Laurels & lances: Fire and EMS
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Laurel: To pulling together. A fire can can devastate a residence. Even when there is no loss of life, it can upend a family and send people scrambling to find shelter and replace the necessities they have lost.
But what happens when the residence lost is the place people go when they have nowhere else to turn? That happened Tuesday when a fire at the Second Avenue Commons shelter displaced 175 people.
A house fire often is addressed by the American Red Cross, which will step in and try to coordinate accommodations. That is important when you are dealing with a family of four or five. It is staggering when it is 40 times that many people.
It has required a response from different agencies working together. Allegheny County is arranging for temporary shelter at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The Red Cross is providing the beds, plus shelter workers. Community Kitchen Pittsburgh has stepped up with food.
Does this solve the critical needs of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County’s homeless population, which has seemed more pressing in recent years? No.
What it does is acknowledge fire is a great equalizer, leaving everyone it touches in need. And the people who pull together when it happens can make all the difference.
Lance: To lost assets. Jeannette EMS closed in 2023 after serving the community for 63 years. The abrupt shuttering, due to low funding and even lower insurance reimbursement, forced the city to scramble to find ambulance service for Jeannette residents.
On Monday, the former emergency service provider’s vehicles were sold as part of its bankruptcy case.
Two ambulances and two SUVs were sold to Braddock Auto Group Partners in East Pittsburgh for $23,500. It’s a low figure for the total package — even considering the ambulances are 18 years old.
EMS providers across the state and the nation are struggling for survival. Let’s hope that low price helps another community acquire the equipment it needs to give life-saving care and treatment to people in their most desperate hours.