City councilman wonders if shuttered Jeannette EMS building could become city's fire station

Jeannette might look to an existing building as the new home for its firefighters — the former Jeannette EMS station.

Councilman Chuck Highlands shared the idea during a council meeting Tuesday after expressing concerns about a potential funding shortfall in building a new station. Other members appeared interested in looking into the possibility.

“The ambulance base is sitting down there,” he said, adding that the suggestion had nothing to do with his son being the director of now shuttered Jeannette EMS.

The city in 2022 received a $1.2 million grant for the new fire station through the American Rescue Plan Act. In August, council decided to seek bids for the building, but officials believe the grant will pay for only part of the project to replace the department’s current station attached to city hall.

City officials had anticipated building a new station in an empty city lot across Clay Avenue with the grant.

Manager Ethan Keedy said he’d look at the grant requirements, but agreed with Fire Chief Bill Frye who said it seems officials might have some leeway in how they spend the money.

“The grant’s pretty vague,” Frye said.

There’s plenty of room at the ambulance station on South Sixth Street for fire trucks and there could be enough money left in the grant to make improvements inside, Highlands said. It was unclear if the building is for sale. There was not a for sale sign there Tuesday.

Jeannette EMS closed abruptly July 3. Since then, it has been ordered to pay $339,904 to KeyBank for outstanding principal on a commercial line of credit, interest and late fees. KeyBank filed a mortgage foreclosure on the building, according to court records.

The ambulance service was in business for 63 years. Its director pointed to insufficient funding and low insurance reimbursement rates as reasons for the closure. The agency’s budget in 2021 was $824,800 and 97% of revenue was brought in from billing, according to information obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request.

In an undated letter to FEMA officials, Jeannette EMS said it intended to donate several items obtained through a grant to Irwin EMS, including four power stretchers, two mechanical CPR devices and radio communication equipment, according to documents obtained under the FOIA request.

It was unclear if a plan of liquidation and dissolution had been received by the state attorney general’s office. Mutual Aid EMS, based in Greensburg, now covers Jeannette.

The city fire station, built in 1927, has sewage problems, black mold, termites and asbestos. It also is not big enough to hold all of the department’s trucks. Plans for the new station have been in the works since 2019, but prices for supplies and construction materials have increased since then.

Frye said if the department would take over the ambulance station, that would mean some bills would be separate from city hall and other electronics would have to be moved.

“It is a plausible thing,” he said. “I know the building needs work.”

“It’s definitely something to research,” he said.

The building already has bunks, a kitchen and common spaces.

“I just wanted to kick it off,” Highlands said. “Let’s look at it.”

The grant has to be used by December 2024. Jeannette has the only paid full-time firefighters in the county.

According to Associated Builders and Contractors, the cost of construction materials remains 37% higher than before the pandemic.