KECKSBURG, Pa. — The Kecksburg Rescue Ambulance Service is closing its doors for good on Jan. 1.
Chelsea Queer, a resident of Kecksburg, said she didn’t know until Sunday.
“I found out last night on Facebook,” Queer told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek on Monday.
The news came as a shock to her.
>> Members of Kecksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad say locks to their garage were changed without notice
Her youngest son relied on them two years ago when he was just two years old after being bit by a dog they had at the time.
“They responded so fast, I hung up the phone with them and went to call my brother-in-law to come over and try to help. Before he had even answered and we got started with our conversation they were in the driveway,” Queer said.
Two years later, after hearing the ambulance service is set to shut down — those critical moments with her son replay in her mind.
“If it were worse...if they couldn’t have got here and we couldn’t stop the bleeding that fast...What would have happened?” Queer said.
For some volunteers in Kecksburg, that fear is becoming a quick reality.
Over the weekend — Kevin Hendrick — a 16-year member of the ambulance service — couldn’t get in the building to the ambulances.
“I came down for a vehicle accident we were dispatched for to find a note on the door saying the locks had been changed and my key did not work,” Hendrick told Channel 11 Sunday.
John Blizman, the first assistant chief, confirmed that on the phone. He said he also wasn’t aware the locks were being changed early.
He said the plan was to have them changed after the ambulance service closed on January 1 due to volunteer shortage issues.
He said a notice printed from the Trib was posted on the door after the locks were changed.
“What now?” asked Queer. “Who’s coming now?”
Blizman said the coverage area will be split by Mount Pleasant Medic 10 and Mutual Aid in Greensburg.
Queer is worried people in her neighborhood won’t get potentially lifesaving care as fast as before.
“A stroke, or cardiac arrest? Those minutes count,” she said.
Chief Maureen Hutter told Channel 11′s Havranek over the phone that all volunteers now have keys to get into the building.
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