PITTSTON — Right now, it’s a small pile of dirt. In the future, it will be an $8 million state-of-the-art headquarters for the Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance service.
After years of planning and securing funding while promoting the cause of regionalization, city officials broke ground on the new facility at the site of the former Triangle Motel.
Dozens of supporters from throughout Luzerne County turned out for a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday morning to celebrate the occasion.
“This is a once-in-a-career opportunity,” said Ed Szafran, chief of operations for the department.
Pittston City mayor Michael Lombardo speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Greater Pittstion Regional EMTs gather to watch the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Luzerne County Council Chair John Lombardo speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Members of the crowd look on and record during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dozens of people gather during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston City administrator Joe Chalk speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston City mayor Michael Lombardo speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Representatives responsible for the construction of the Greater Pittstion Regional Ambulance Headquarters shovel a pile of dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Representatives responsible for the construction of the Greater Pittstion Regional Ambulance Headquarters shovel a pile of dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston City mayor Michael Lombardo speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Headquarters on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Speakers at the ceremony included three Lombardos involved in the project — Mayor Mike Lombardo, his cousin Michael Lombardo, the city’s director of public safety and vice president of the ambulance service, and the mayor’s nephew John Lombardo, the chairman of Luzerne County Council who is a Pittston firefighter and former EMT with the ambulance crew.
“It’s great to be here. It takes all levels of government to get lifts like this done. This is what happens when we put political differences aside,” the mayor said. “This is a really important project.”
The new headquarters will be built in two phases, the first being a large apparatus bay garage that could store 10 to 12 emergency units. That phase should be completed by the end of the year, the mayor said. Future phases will include living quarters for the crew, a community meeting space, and a regional emergency operations center.
The property is located at 41 Plank St., a short stretch at the crossroads of where South Main Street in Pittston links Main Street in Jenkins Twp. The Pittston City Redevelopment Authority purchased the blighted former motel property for $275,000 in May of 2023.
Michael Lombardo, a veteran of the ambulance service, said the department has tried to be a model of regionalization for area emergency services.
The Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance is the primary responder for basic and advanced life support calls in Pittston City, Avoca, Exeter, Jenkins Twp., Laflin, West Pittston, West Wyoming, Wyoming and Yatesville. The organization is the primary advanced life support responder in Exeter Twp., Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown and Pittston Twp.
The department, which is a separate entity from the municipalities it covers, boasts 55 employees, both full time and part time, and relies on subscriptions and fees for service calls to maintain operations.
A large chunk of the $8 million price tag for the new headquarters came from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that Luzerne County was awarded following the COVID-19 pandemic. Luzerne County officials presented the department with a ceremonial $2 million check on Thursday. Other funding came primarily through state grants.
John Lombardo said the county awarded $7 million to local police, fire and ambulance departments from the $112 million in ARPA funds that Luzerne County received. He said he was proud his colleagues in county government helped fund the new headquarters.
“Projects like this are about collaboration,” John Lombardo said.