The EMS service began in 1972 in Middletown Township at Lima Fire Company, after being serviced for years by the Media and Concordville Fire Companies. Funding was secured though grants for its first EMS vehicle, a Chevrolet van-style unit purchased from the Vanguard Company, according to federal grant programs, the EMS unit had to be painted to meet standards as orange and white.
The EMS division was a first of sorts in Delaware County, as the Emergency Medical Technician program was the first of its kind on the east coast. Our members were a part of a pilot program for the Department of Transportation establishing better pre-hospital care. In 1972, Lima’s EMS unit went in service as the first EMS service to require EMT’s on each call.
In 1972, our building had to under go a renovation to house the EMS service. The original building could not house the units, an addition was added. The addition included a crew room, office area, a bunk room for members to stay in station overnight, and two EMS bays facing War Admiral Lane. In 1975 a bay of the fire station would be designated to house the First Fire Department-based Paramedic Unit in the State of Pennsylvania.
In 1990, a second addition was added to the building, this time to add office space and a third EMS bay. Lima’s EMS service had grown.
Our thanks to the members who first had the vision of providing EMS service to Middletown Township, Lima still continues to provide above standard quality EMS service to the township’s residents. In 2001, Lima and Riddle Memorial Hospital entered into a join agreement to provide our residents with a higher standard of pre-hospital care.
The company remembers Our First… EMS Captain, Terrance Stinson, and Our First Paramedic EMS Captain, William Richards.
The EMS division is administered by an EMS Captain and an EMS Manager. The Captain is responsible for the day to day tactical (operating) duties of the units. The Captain’s staff, like the fire division staff has a structure of officers. The EMS Lieutenants are assigned responsibilities from vehicle equipment to EMS training. The EMS Manager has the administrative responsibilities of the division.
Currently our fleet includes (pictured); two (2) Horton Emergency Vehicles type-3, both certified and licensed by the PA Department of Health EMS Licensure Program, under the EMS Act 145. |
