Mahoning Valley Ambulance offers shelter from storm

Motorists stranded along Route 902 between Mahoning Township and Summit Hill during Saturday’s harsh weather conditions were able to find a place of comfort at the Mahoning Valley Ambulance Association.

Snow began to fall at 4 p.m. and roads quickly became treacherous. A crash closed Route 902 into Summit Hill and traffic was backed up on the Mansion House Hill.

Matt Ruch, director of operations at Mahoning Valley, said the idea to set up as a shelter from 4-11 p.m. was to “get the motorists out of the cold and give them a place to go.”

Ruch said there were initially six or seven cars in the parking lot that were waiting for the mountain to open up.

He said that soon turned into 12 to 14 cars, at which time permission was received to open up the shelter.

When all was said and done, Ruch said they ended up getting 42 people.

“It went very well,” Ruch said. “They could watch television, a lot of people sat and talked who knew each other, mostly from the Lansford and Summit Hill area.”

Ruch said the motorists were also provided with food and refreshments.

“The feedback we got was very positive; the people that were in our building were very gracious that we opened up.”

Ruch said they were also contacted by the Hampton Inn, as well as Country Inn & Suites, asking if they could send potential customers over to the shelter because they were booked.

However, he said they did not receive anyone from either hotel.

Ruch said the last time he can recall the ambulance association opening as a shelter was when the Lowe’s store along Route 443 was being built and a truck took out the power lines on a 100-degree day.

“We opened the shelter for people that were out of power for residents to get them out of the heat,” he said.