By the narrowest of votes, Rescue Hose Co. agreed in 1967 to take on ambulance service in Greencastle and Antrim Township, Pa.
That simple majority was all that was needed as 50 years later, the rescue organization commemorated a half-century of serving the community with emergency-medical care.
As part of its annual open house for Fire Prevention Week, Rescue Hose Co. also celebrated the emergency-medical-services anniversary Saturday at the fire hall on South Washington Street. It also showed off its new ambulance, which soon will go into service.
That vehicle will be busier than the ambulances of 50 years ago that were donated from local funeral homes.
Fire company historian Ray Mowen noted that the 1967 vote was 22-21 to take over the community's emergency-medical services, but by the time the company went on line, there were 758 community members and one business member of the ambulance club providing financial support of the service and 28 volunteers had taken first-aid training.