Sep 16, 2018 5 min read

NEW FREEPORT – Those who live in the southwestern portion of Greene County may find when they call 911 for an ambulance, an SUV pulls up.

But New Freeport Volunteer Fire Department EMS director Tommy Coss doesn’t want people to be confused or alarmed if that happens. In fact, their new EMS vehicle can do everything an ambulance can do, except transport a patient.

“When people call 911, it surprises the dickens out of them when our medical truck shows up. We carry everything in that medical truck and we’re allowed to do everything that your most equipped ambulances, advanced life support ambulances right here in Waynesburg, can do except load you up and drag you away,” Coss said.

Coss said the department noticed in 2016 it could take 45 minutes to an hour and a half for an ambulance to get to its coverage area. EMS Southwest can get tied up on other calls. 

And in a life or death situation, those precious minutes can make all the difference.

“All of that time is muscle lost or brain loss,” Coss said.

So the department started the process of researching with the state Department of Health what it would take to get their own advanced life support ambulance. They started raising money in 2017 for two pricey pieces of equipment: a CPR machine that costs about $20,000 and a device that’s both a defibrillator and also handles vital sign readings, like an electrocardiogram, for $40,000.

Through lots of community donations and grants, New Freeport raised enough money in July to purchase both pieces of equipment. Grants from Community Foundation of Fayette County, EQT Foundation and Greene County Memorial Hospital Foundation pushed the department past the goal.

“What it boils down to is that in a little over a year, with the generosity of the people and businesses, we have a fully operational ALS (advanced life support) squad service manned by paramedics, EMTs and first responders in the area covered by the New Freeport Volunteer Fire Department,” Coss said. “What we’re mainly trying to do is let people in our five townships know we exist.”

The department covers Gilmore, Freeport, Springhill, Aleppo and Jackson townships, and often assists Center Township when there’s a need. Coss also has a West Virginia paramedic license and can provide mutual aid in Hundred, W.Va., because the nearest advanced life support ambulance comes from New Martinsville more than 30 miles away, Coss said. That agreement is still being worked out.

The department received its licensure from Pennsylvania last August. Coss said last year, the department only handled 15 medical runs. This year, as of Wednesday, that number stood at 51. They have one paramedic, Coss, and an EMT, his wife. Two more – his daughter and niece – had just completed training. His daughter passed her EMT test Wednesday and will be ready for runs as soon as she gets her card from the state. Coss trained the department’s firefighters with the basics as first responders. Coss hopes for others to get trained and assist.

“What has happened up until this point was EMS Southwest would get dispatched and then one of the medics on there that knows me, because I work there sometimes, too, would have us called out, too. Now I’m going through the township supervisors to try to get designated as a primary responder, that way we’d be toned out at the same time they are,” Coss said.

In a lot of situations, Coss said he could respond to an incident in less than eight minutes. He also is a safety manager for Bill Wise Excavating and said he knows where all the area well sites are, which can be difficult to find but critical if there’s an accident.

“I just want someone to be able to get there,” Coss said. “That’s the only reason I really do it. That, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it.”

He has extensive experience, working as an EMT trainer with a background in combat medicine. He became a paramedic two years ago and was previously an EMT. But Coss is 63 years old and hopes to see more medics out there. He knows the training for EMTs and paramedics can be expensive.

But for the community, volunteers don’t cost a thing.

“I know that sounds weird, but you take an ALS ambulance most times, they’re going to pay $900 to $1,000, plus mileage. Now, if it’s really bad, I’m not a bit afraid to call a helicopter,” Coss said.

Coss said the department isn’t interested in taking business from ambulance services, but just wants to help the community. The department wouldn’t even do enough runs to justify also doing transports. New Freeport’s SUV isn’t completely unheard of. Other departments have rapid response EMS units designed to get to a scene quickly to begin treatment.

Coss also wants people to know they cannot call him at home; he must be dispatched through the county’s 911.

The department could always use donations. One IV needle costs about $4, he said. Most equipment used gets replaced by an ambulance service or the hospital where the patient is taken, but there’s still normal wear or things that expire.

“That’s the stuff we need help replacing,” Coss said.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the capabilities of the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department’s ambulance. The department is equipped to treat medical issues, such as heart attacks.