Former VA Butler staff concerned by changes to emergency response
As VA Butler Fire and Emergency Services undergoes significant operational changes, former employees worry the level of care provided to veterans and the surrounding community will suffer.
The VA fire service previously responded off campus during ECHO responses, which are for life-threatening medical emergencies. However, those operations ceased on Saturday, Feb. 28. It also no longer assists Butler Ambulance Service on calls.
The fire services will continue for non-medical emergencies, but the ambulance service operated by the VA ceased its operations entirely last Saturday, Feb. 28.
Some first responders were notified of the change just days earlier on the afternoon of Feb. 26.
David Guiste, a former fire chief with the VA, said his concern with losing these operations is the impact it will have to both on- and off-campus responses. He said losing one of the community’s responding departments will slow response times to the areas closest to it.
“The (Fire and Emergency Services) team at VA Butler also has an incredible track record in assisting with cardiac and respiratory arrests and overdoses with successful outcomes. This is not to say that we are or were superior to any other agency. This is due simply to response time and our geographic location,” he said in an email.
The location was close to Butler Commons and Butler Crossings shopping plazas in Butler Township.
Guiste worked for the VA for a total of 16 years, including four as fire chief, before leaving in October 2025. He said he was also involved in establishing the VA’s ambulance service in 2017 and explained he remained in a managerial role for the service until his departure.
He said for ECHO responses where a patient is without a pulse or not breathing, seconds make the difference between “whether someone survives or if their family has to begin planning a funeral.”
He said during his tenure, he can think of eight to 10 times where someone’s life was saved by the proximity VA Fire and Emergency Services had to the incidents.
“While this is not the primary mission of VA Butler or the Fire and Emergency Services Department, it is something the entire team prides themselves on because there is no greater reward than to use your skills and equipment to save another human being,” he said.
Scott Frederick, director of emergency services for Butler Township, said the only calls he anticipates taking on are those ECHO responses the VA’s fire and emergency services once responded to. He said those are on a request basis. He estimated the VA had about 10 calls of that nature last year.
“If requested, I’d imagine we’d respond to about that many (in 2026). A lot of the times, if there are guys available, they’ll go just to lend a hand. So it doesn’t necessarily add to our calls since we usually have some response anyways,” he explained.
He echoed Guiste with his own biggest concern: The hit to the community and the loss of quick response times to areas near the VA.
“I can think of at least three life saves that happened because of how quickly the VA could get to the scene,” Frederick said.
He said Butler Township Volunteer Fire District is still quick when it comes to responding to areas such as Butler Commons, estimating about five to six minutes between the dispatch and crews arriving on scene. He said police officers are also equipped with an automated external defibrillator kit to combat cardiac arrests they encounter.
As for the VA’s ambulance service’s calls, which were exclusively on campus, Butler Ambulance Service will take over.
Jesse Haas, director of operations for Butler Ambulance Service, said the service estimates it will take on an additional 230 calls due to these changes, based on the number of dispatches the VA’s ambulance service received in 2025.
While he said those calls will add work to the ambulance service, he doesn’t anticipate them causing overload or any major concerns on their own.
However, Guiste said based on his experience with the VA ambulance service, he imagines Butler Ambulance Service will respond to a much higher number of calls than the service’s estimation.
“While there is no way to quantify the exact impact, it is my professional opinion, formed over 20-plus years in emergency services, that if this operating model remains, it will eventually cost someone’s life,” he said.
Stephen Reott, another former VA Butler employee who worked in its Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program, said the knowledge that the fire and emergency services had has been paramount to saving lives.
“VA Butler Fire and Emergency Services were frequently the first responders in (emergency) situations. Because they were already on campus, they knew the buildings, the layout of the domiciliary, and the unique needs of the veteran population we served. That familiarity and proximity often meant a faster, more coordinated response when seconds mattered,” he said.
He said he is also concerned by the fire and emergency services’ ability to respond off campus, saying it “removes a valuable resource that has quietly supported the VA campus and the surrounding community for years.”
But Guiste said these changes did not come out of the blue. He said he attempted to warn his superiors of the troubles EMS agencies were facing, but felt he was brushed off at every turn.
“They are fully aware of the consequences their actions will have, and they have decided to proceed with abandonment,” he said.
EMS agencies across Butler County, the state and the country have been facing a number of issues, from rising costs of vehicles, high costs of readiness and troubles keeping staff long term. A deeper dive into some of the troubles local EMS agencies are facing can be found in the Butler Eagle’s “Checkup on EMS” series.
