We wouldn’t have thought a couple of years ago when the Warren City Council began pushing for EMS agreements with neighboring townships that the effort would have been successful.

Color us wrong.

Last week City Council members approved a 10th agreement authorizing the Warren Fire Department to act as a supplemental EMS provider to the city’s neighbors by approving a one-day deal with Pine Grove Township. These agreements are the type of municipal cooperation that are important for a region dealing with ever-decreasing population and tax base. As volunteer fire departments continue to deal with manpower issues, particularly during daytime hours when a lot of volunteer firefighters are working. Some areas have to contract with for-profit providers. Some areas, including Chautauqua County, have invested in county-backed fly cars to provide emergency response when volunteers aren’t available.

The areas surrounding Warren are opting for a little bit of both by using EmergyCare and, then, Warren firefighters as EMS backups. The agreements mean EMS response in the area is bolstered, for now, while Warren taxpayers aren’t subsidizing EMS response for non-Warren taxpayers.

Given how the process started we weren’t sure things would progress to this point, but we’re glad it has. We have a long way to go before the EMS crisis in Pennsylvania is solved, particularly in rural areas. But what we’re seeing in the Warren area is a great start.