Andy Close
A fire and EMS safety study is officially underway in Warren County.
A letter of intent was drafted for Warren County to join alongside Erie and Crawford County for the study, and Paul Pascuzzi, Ken McCorrision (Warren County Director of Public Safety), and Warren County Commissioner Ben Kafferlin recently met with representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to officially kick things off. Pascuzzi, Warren County Council of Governments (COG) Fire Service Committee chairman confirmed that at Wednesday’s COG meeting.
“On that Friday, we met with Crawford County Commissioner Eric Henry to discuss what was the impetus for them requesting the assistance out of Crawford County,” Pascuzzi noted.
Fire and EMS safety has been an issue at the forefront of Warren County and the City of Warren, as officials are constantly looking for ways to improve. Included in that was a recent pilot program between the City and Pleasant Township.
The study will look at fire and emergency medical services coverage throughout the entire county.
The study itself will be driven by local fire and EMS personnel and municipal leaders throughout the county.
“The data collected will include calls per department, dropped calls, times of calls, and things of that nature,” Pascuzzi said.
Pascuzzi also noted that they are seeking expertise from other sources as well.
“On the third of May, we had a conference call with John Senefa, former fire chief from York County,” Pascuzzi noted. “He’s a well-known source of advice for many counties across the commonwealth. We wanted to get his perspective.”
Pascuzzi went on to discuss what they will be looking for from each municipality in the county.
“Each municipality will need to give us a grade,” he said. “We’ve been talking with the firefighters throughout the county about this. I think the important part of the project for us is we, as municipal officials need to identify the level of care our firefighters provide us.”
