Central Erie County Paramedics Association (CECPA)

CECPA is housed out of the Mckean Volunteer Fire Department and is dispatched by Erie County Department of Public Safety (ECDOPS). CECPA is the primary ALS service for Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department, McKean Hose Company, and Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department.  

Prior to organizing an ALS system at CECPA, the local fire departments had to call for mutual aid from other ALS organizations which were located up to 20 miles away.  CECPA was organized by members of Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department, McKean Hose Company, and Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Departments and went in service in March of 1986. In the beginning, CECPA Paramedics were paid minimum wage for the time they were on call, which was approximately two hours. They then discovered a category of worker called a "paid volunteer." A paid volunteer paramedic received a $10.00 stipend per shift and many of the paramedics donated their paychecks back to the organization to build the treasury.

Today, CECPA continues to provide ALS service with both full-time and part-time Paramedics. CECPA's budget comes primarily from billing and memberships. CECPA has two ALS units, Medic 2 and Medic 4. There is only one Paramedic on shift at a time so the units are rotated often, with the back-up ALS unit housed at McKean VFD. If the need arises, an off duty Paramedic can respond with the back-up ALS unit.