ALDEN, N.Y. — September 15, 2026

Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps has announced that its contracted ambulance service for the Town of Alden will end this week, creating immediate questions about ambulance and Advanced Life Support coverage in the community before a new provider is scheduled to begin service in January.

According to a statement released by Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps on Tuesday, LVAC’s current contract with the Town of Alden expires at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

Effective at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, September 17, LVAC says it will no longer serve as the Town of Alden’s contracted ambulance provider.

LVAC said it has been negotiating with the Town of Alden for approximately nine months regarding continued emergency medical service coverage.

According to the organization, it was informed Monday evening that the Town has decided to enter into a contract with a different emergency medical services provider beginning January 1, 2027.

That announcement leaves an important question for Alden residents:

What ambulance and paramedic coverage will be in place between September 17 and January 1?

LVAC Warns It Should Not Be Expected to Fill Coverage Gaps

In its public statement, LVAC emphasized that once its current contract expires, the organization should not be expected to continue providing the same level of coverage to Alden.

LVAC stated:

«“The Town should not expect that LVAC is able to fill the gaps in coverage, as the Town has not contracted with LVAC to do so.”»

The organization said mutual-aid ambulances coming from outside the Town may provide coverage when available, but LVAC will no longer be obligated to staff the same number of ambulances it maintained while contracted to serve Alden.

LVAC also expressed concern about the transition.

«“We are concerned for your safety, but trust that the Town Board has made a choice in your best interest.”»

The organization has served as Alden’s contracted ambulance provider since 2016, providing EMT and paramedic response to the community for approximately ten years.

LVAC thanked Alden residents for their trust and thanked its employees and members who have responded to emergencies throughout the Town during that period.

The Biggest Question: Who Is Coming When Alden Needs an Ambulance?

As an Alden resident, I believe residents deserve specific answers about what happens beginning Thursday morning.

I also look at this from another perspective.

I am a volunteer firefighter who responds to medical emergencies in this community.

When firefighters are dispatched to a medical call, we frequently depend on ambulance crews and paramedics to provide additional medical care and transport patients to the hospital.

Those ambulances may come from LVAC or another mutual-aid organization depending on availability and the circumstances of the call.

That makes the question of ambulance coverage much more than a contract dispute.

It is a public-safety issue.

When someone calls 911 because they are experiencing chest pain, difficulty breathing, stroke symptoms, a serious injury, an overdose, cardiac arrest, or another potentially life-threatening emergency, response time matters.

Residents deserve to know:

• Who will be assigned as the primary ambulance provider beginning September 17?
• Where will the responding ambulance normally be coming from?
• Will paramedic-level Advanced Life Support coverage be immediately available?
• What happens when the closest ambulance is already committed to another emergency?
• How frequently will mutual aid be required?
• Which surrounding agencies are expected to provide that mutual aid?
• What happens when several emergencies occur at the same time?
• What are the expected ambulance response times during the transition period?
• What is the coverage plan between September 17, 2026 and January 1, 2027?

These are reasonable questions for any resident whose family may eventually need emergency medical care.

Volunteer Firefighters Are Still Responding

There is one point that needs to be made absolutely clear.

Alden-area volunteer firefighters are still answering emergency calls.

The expiration of LVAC’s ambulance contract does not mean local fire departments are stopping their emergency response.

Volunteer firefighters serving the Village and Town of Alden will continue responding when dispatched.

Depending on the location of an emergency, that may include members of Alden, Crittenden, Millgrove, Town Line and Bowmansville-area fire services.

When the pager sounds, volunteers will continue leaving their homes, families, dinners, jobs and beds to respond to their neighbors asking for help.

But there is an important distinction.

Firefighters can arrive, assess a patient, begin treatment within their training and provide critical assistance.

They cannot simply replace a transporting ambulance.

And they cannot replace a paramedic when Advanced Life Support intervention is required.

That is why the question residents should be asking is not whether their firefighters will continue showing up.

They will.

The question is:

Who Is Coming With the Ambulance and Paramedic?

Imagine the next 911 call is your mother experiencing symptoms of a heart attack.

Your father is showing signs of a stroke.

Your child cannot breathe.

Your spouse has been seriously injured.

Someone is in cardiac arrest.

At that moment, contracts and administrative disagreements will mean very little to the family standing in that room.

They will want to know where the ambulance is.

They will want to know where the paramedic is.

And they will want help as quickly as possible.

Our volunteer firefighters will continue doing everything within their ability and training to help the patient in front of them.

Neighboring emergency services will undoubtedly continue assisting whenever resources are available.

But mutual aid is exactly that: assistance from another agency when available.

Every ambulance responding into Alden from another community is also an ambulance potentially being pulled away from its own service area.

That makes staffing, availability and contingency planning extremely important.

Residents Deserve the Numbers

Residents should also ask for objective EMS data.

How many medical emergencies occur annually in the Town and Village of Alden?

How many require ambulance transportation?

How many require Advanced Life Support?

How frequently is mutual aid requested?

How frequently are multiple ambulance resources committed simultaneously?

What are current average ambulance response times?

What are the longest response times?

How frequently does the first available ambulance have to travel from outside Alden?

And what changes are expected beginning September 17?

Those numbers can help residents understand the actual condition of the EMS system rather than relying on rumor or speculation.

Please Move Over for Blue Lights

There is another important reminder during this discussion.

Please move over for blue lights.

In New York, those blue lights may belong to a volunteer firefighter responding to the station after someone in the community has called 911.

That firefighter could be responding to your home.

Your parent.

Your child.

Your neighbor.

Your friend.

Every second that volunteer spends trying to safely get through traffic is another second before emergency personnel can reach the person asking for help.

Give them room.

This Should Not Become an Attack on Emergency Responders

This situation should not be turned into criticism of firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers or neighboring ambulance organizations.

Those men and women are answering the calls.

They are working within whatever system and resources are available to them.

The larger question is whether the system supporting those responders has enough resources, staffing and contingency coverage to reliably protect the community.

Alden Residents Should Attend the Town Board Meeting

Residents concerned about the ambulance transition should attend upcoming Town Board meetings and respectfully request clear information.

Ask who is covering Alden beginning September 17.

Ask where ambulances will be stationed.

Ask whether paramedics will be immediately available.

Ask how mutual aid will work.

Ask what happens when neighboring services are unavailable.

Ask for response-time and call-volume data.

Ask what contingency plans exist for multiple simultaneous emergencies.

And ask what emergency medical coverage will exist until the newly contracted provider begins service on January 1, 2027.

These questions should be answered with facts.

Because eventually almost every family will need EMS.

I know someday I may be the person lying there waiting for that ambulance.

As an Alden resident, that concerns me.

As a firefighter who may already be standing beside that patient waiting for additional resources, it concerns me even more.

Alden residents deserve clear answers.

They deserve transparency.

They deserve accountability.

And, above everything else, they deserve dependable emergency medical care.

Our volunteer firefighters will continue answering the call.

Now the community deserves to know who will be coming behind them when someone desperately needs an ambulance and a paramedic.

Statement From Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps

LVAC concluded its announcement by thanking the Alden community for ten years of support:

«“To the residents of Alden, thank you for allowing Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps to serve your community for the past ten years. It has truly been our privilege.”»

Erie County Blotter will continue seeking and publishing information regarding the Town of Alden’s ambulance coverage plans as additional official details become available.