Second Alarmer's Association and Rescue Squad of Montgomery County

05/23/2026

Thank you !! Senator Devlin Robinson Senator Judy Ward for introducing this important legislation. This bill not only helps EMS agencies recover the fees needed to provide service but protects patients from balance billing at the same time.

SARS urges all of our area residents to contact your state senator and ask them to support SB 1342 and while you are at it contact your state representative and ask them to support HB1152 which does the same thing.

Our EMS providers are facing an ongoing financial crisis while continuing to answer every emergency call, every hour of every day. This National EMS Week, Senator Judy Ward and I introduced legislation to strengthen the financial stability of Pennsylvania’s 911 EMS providers so they can continue to provide these lifesaving services for years to come.

https://senatorrobinson.com/2026/05/21/robinson-and-ward-introduce-legislation-to-strengthen-financial-stability-of-911-ems-providers-during-national-ems-week/

05/21/2026

Thank you Senator Maria Collett for taking time to visit us during EMS week.

Agencies such as ours are facing some of the toughest challenges we have see in decades (possibly ever) and it is reassuring to know we have legislators like you on our side.

We hope your peers in the Senate and your colleagues in the House are able to move SB1342 and HB1152 forward quickly as one of several actions needed to help save EMS in PA.

05/13/2026

05/05/2026

Our next class is right around the corner. Once you complete our program you are eligible for employment and able to skip the first steps of our hiring program.

04/12/2026

Frequently in public safety we hear the phrase “What if you called and nobody came?”

Imagine if you called and nobody ANSWERED?

At Second Alarmers we are grateful to work hand in had with some of the best callers and dispatchers (collectively called Telecommunicators) there are.

Seldom seen, rarely thought about, frequently taken for granted (and yelled at). We appreciate you all year round and want to recognize you this week!!

02/12/2026

Meet our newest recruit Henry. We all know there is a shortage of EMS providers these days so we are getting them signed up young. It’s not a labor law violation if we pay him with Cheerios?

Henry’s dad Tim is a current SARS medic and we really hope he decides to follow in his footsteps.

01/26/2026

This one is a long story but worth reading:

A few weeks ago I was at a meeting with EMS leaders from across the state. After the meeting, one agency leader came up to someone I was speaking with and gave him a challenge coin.

It was a nicely designed coin and came with a story, that in the area they serve the various “First Responder” agencies had come together to put all of their logos/names on the coin. He did remark however that he thought it was odd that they had included Public Works as they are not traditionally thought of as “First Responders.”

I decided to stick my nose in the conversation and made some smart comment like “yeah, until a big snowstorm and then we all want them to be first responders.” My comment was politely acknowledged, and we all went about our business.

Yesterday was a winter storm, the likes of which we have not seen in several years. While we don’t get a lot of severe weather in this area, we have gotten good at handling these storms largely due to the extreme cooperation between area EMS, Fire, Police, and PW departments.

As the snow fell yesterday morning, our friends at Abington Township PW staged crews at all area firehouses ready to respond and clear the way for any EMS calls that came in. PW crews from all municipalities monitored conditions and calls and were quick to get trucks to the areas we had to respond to in order to make a path in. These crews stayed in the area until we were ready to transport and made sure we got out, prepared to es**rt us to the hospital if necessary.

On most calls we responded to you would find a police officer shoveling a path and then helping us move patients across the treacherous snow and our friends from the fire departments assisting in force too.

Years ago in a meeting an area leader wrote the message “One Mission, One Team” on the board. I am proud to say in the areas we serve those words have transformed from a saying to a mantra and exemplify the teamwork that ALL public safety professionals INCLUDING PW live by.

Let’s not forget our friends working hard in the ER offering crews warm blankets & words of encouragement with each patient we brought in.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

KD

01/24/2026

Our crews stand ready to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of the weather. We look forward to meeting you at community events later in the year but would rather not meet you this weekend due to an injury. Please be safe while operating snow removal equipment!

01/18/2026

Thinking about a career in public safety?
STOP BY AND APPLY!

Thinking about a career in emergency services?

The Upper Moreland Police Department, the Upper Moreland Township Fire Department and the Second Alarmer's Association and Rescue Squad of Montgomery County are hiring!

Join us on January 19th for a police, fire and EMS recruitment event. On this MLK Day of Service, learn how you can turn a commitment to community into a rewarding career of service.