Nov 24, 2002 By Christine Haines 2 min read

WASHINGTON TWP. – A full-time paid ambulance service is once again staffing the Washington Township-Fayette City Community Ambulance Service (CAS), but they aren’t CAS employees. The 40 to 45 CAS employees have gone without pay for the past seven weeks or so, due to financial problems and a lien freezing the ambulance service’s bank accounts.

The Internal Revenue Service filed the lien against CAS Nov. 8 for non-payment of nearly $142,000 in withholding taxes, Social Security taxes, fines and interest.

CAS is merging with Rostraver-West Newton Emergency Services Inc., and discussions began Thursday.

CAS board President David Martini said he doesn’t know how long the merger will take or if it will ever be finalized.

Details, such as whether the Rostraver service will take over the CAS debts, are in the hands of the attorneys for the two services, he added.

“It’s in the process now,” Martini said. “Rostraver’s the only one that supported us. Rostraver is picking up most of our employees.”

Martini said that both the Washington Township station and the Roscoe station previously operated by CAS are being staffed, but he couldn’t say if that would continue that way in the future.

A number of the communities that had CAS as their primary ambulance service switched to other services a week ago when CAS closed down for three days.

CAS told emergency dispatch services Nov. 15 that the service wouldn’t operate until an insurance issue was resolved.

CAS management thought at that time that the service’s liability insurance had expired, though it hadn’t.

CAS resumed operations with a volunteer staff Tuesday.

Phil Stoner of the Emergency Management Services Institute in Pittsburgh said CAS is under no obligation to immediately inform EMSI of its merger plans.

“They are using vehicles that are already licensed. If they aren’t going to use the Washington Township vehicles, they need to send back the placards.

“The essential issue for us is that the communities still have service,” Stoner said.

Some of the communities previously served by CAS have selected other services, including Browns-ville Ambulance Service and the Perryopolis Area Ambulance Service, as their primary responders.