McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority holds open house

The McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority EMS will hold an open house on May 21 from 1-3 p.m. at its main station on 9925 Grubbs Road.

Visitors can see the what their local EMS is all about, said ambulance authority Chief Chris Dell.

“The goal of the event is to educate the public about their EMS, show them our headquarters facility, demonstrate some of our equipment, and meet our paramedics,” Dell said.

The open house will feature refreshments, door prizes, tours of classrooms and the newly renovated garage, and a look at the EMS Training Lab, said Dell.

Guests can see operations of heart monitors, auto-CPR devices and other medical equipment.

The EMS team will demonstrate new safety features of one of the authority’s redesigned ambulances. The crew will also demonstrate hands-only CPR, meaning no mouth-to-mouth contact.

Local Cub Scout Pack 207 and members of the North Boroughs Rotary Club will be landscaping and cleaning up the authority’s flag pole area, which has fallen into disrepair over the last several years, Dell said.

A flag rededication ceremony is planned at the open house. The authority’s honor guard will be part of a ceremony, with a new flag from Rep. Rob Mercuri, R-28th District.

The nonprofit ambulance authority was incorporated in 1977 first serving the areas of McCandless and Franklin Park. Two years later it expanded to the communities of Bradford Woods, Marshall, and the Township of Pine, Dell said.