Flemington Goodwill Ambulance Association Breaks Ground for New Facility

RecordStaffApril 10, 2017Last Updated: April 10, 2017

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Goodwill Hose Company Ambulance Association officials, from the left: Sean Kleckner, chief; Katie Kleckner, board member; Traci Kuntz, board member; Albert “Hap” Hill, board president; Brandon Coleman, board chairman; Don Grant, board member; Seth Matter, assistant chief. Unavailable for the picture were board members Lori Reamer and Kerry Stover Jr.

FLEMINGTON — Since its inception 75 years ago, the Flemington Goodwill Hose Company Ambulance Association has been growing and now the community service organization needs more room.

Most recently sharing quarters with the Flemington Goodwill Hose Company on High Street in the borough, the ambulance association today broke ground for a new $775,000 building along Canal Street, on a vacant plot of land adjacent to the Red Eye Sports Center.

Ambulance Association Chief Sean Kleckner said the new facility has been in the planning stage for the past year. He said the association, with its three ambulances and one support vehicle, has outgrown its current quarters. The new building will have six bays and an administration/training area. “We are excited to finally have a building of our own with room to grow as the needs of the community demand. The construction of the building cements our commitment to this community and all the residents of Clinton County,” he said.

M & R Contracting is the general contractor. M & R representative John Bresnock said work will begin next Monday, the project expected to take nine months to completion. The new building will be a pre-engineered metal structure, 7,229 square feet in size.

Kleckner said the project will be financed from existing income sources and a capital building campaign. Anyone wishing to make donation towards the campaign can address them to Goodwill Hose Company Ambulance Association Capital Building Campaign, 126 High Street, Suite 3, Lock Haven, Pa 17745 or by calling the ambulance service at 570-748-9022. He said a number of special fundraisers are planned, including a “primitive bingo” event at the Dunnstown Fire Hall May 21. Tickets can be purchased by calling the ambulance association at the 748-9022 number.

Kleckner noted the ambulance association is not directly affiliated with the Goodwill Hose Company. He said the ambulance group “separated” from the borough fire department in 1982 and set up its own organization and each organization maintains its own funds. He said it is important to note that the Ambulance Association does not regularly receive tax money from municipalities.

The decision to expand follows an increased demand for the association’s services, he said: “Our organization is comprised of both paid and volunteer EMT’s and paramedics. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week we have a mobile intensive care unit (ambulance which carries at least one EMT and one paramedic staffed at the station. We do also have the ability to staff two additional advanced life support vehicles (paramedic on board) when/if needed. We are dispatched to approximately 2,000 emergency calls per year, a number which has increased by about 50% since 2012. The rise in call volume triggered the ambulance association to purchase an additional ambulance and paramedic support vehicle to meet the demands. With these additional purchases, the association has run out of room to store vehicles in the building it currently shares with the fire company.”