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Chester credits policing, new ambulance coverage and apparatus purchases for service stability
Summary
City officials credited a drop in summer homicides to policing and community programs, said nonprofit VMSC replaced ambulance service after Crozer Chester’s closure, and noted acquisition of a 2025 Pierce fire truck and a new bucket truck to improve public works operations.
City officials told the MRAC on Nov. 25 that public-safety services have remained stable amid receivership, with recent equipment purchases and a nonprofit ambulance provider maintaining response coverage.
Receiver Vijay Kapoor said Chester saw a roughly 35% year-over-year reduction in summer homicides; he attributed the decline to police work and summer programming for youth supported by the district attorney’s office and local groups. Kapoor singled out the role of nonprofit partners in helping residents and youth programming that he said contributed to the improvement.
After Crozer Chester’s closure left a gap in ambulance coverage, nonprofit VMSC stepped in to provide ambulance service, Kapoor said, delivering response times that are "as good, if not better" than previous service but at increased cost that will be reflected in upcoming budgets. "We were left without an ambulance provider... VMSC stepped up," he said.
On fire apparatus, Kapoor said the city took possession of a 2025 Pierce Enforcer fire truck in 2025 and plans to use ARPA funds to acquire additional apparatus in 2026; he noted such vehicles can cost between about $800,000 and over $1,000,000 and must be ordered years in advance. Kapoor also said the city recently acquired a bucket truck—the first since 2002—which will let crews perform more work in-house and reduce outsourcing for tasks such as street-light repairs and tree trimming.
What to watch: Officials said ambulance cost increases will appear in the budget and that apparatus procurement remains a multi-year planning exercise. The improvements were repeatedly framed as operational victories achieved while the city remains under receivership.
Next steps: Budget discussions were scheduled at the council meeting the day after the MRAC update; Kapoor said those deliberations will account for service costs and recent procurement.
