Grove City Area Life Support pulled the plug on its full-time advanced life support ambulance services last week.

The company's board of directors decided Jan. 29 to shut down operations in Pine Township and Greenville, said Basil Hoffman, operations manager.

The next day, GCALS informed emergency management services -- including 911 centers, hospitals and competitors -- and 13 municipalities where they provided ambulance coverage.

Except for the few tying up loose ends "all the employees were laid off and we're trying to help them get placed in other jobs," Hoffman said.

The ambulance service will continue to provide volunteer basic life support -- essentially emergency transportation -- with Grove City Area Rescue Squad, its subsidiary.

Grove City Advanced Life Support's apparent demise follows a bad period for the company, which started operating in June 1999.

In late December, GCALS shut down its Mercer station to save money. The company said low call volume was crippling operations.

To make matters worse, the squad had a 48-hour shutdown of its Pine Township and Greenville stations from Jan. 22 to 24 due to a temporary loss in worker's compensation insurance.

Hoffman said office manager Larry Dannels is still trying to figure out why GCALS had a lapse in worker's compensation.

The shutdowns knocked the service out of the county's 911 rotation and drew the attention of ambulance licenser EMMCO West, Meadville.

Hoffman said they could not continue to operate with a loss of 911 calls for the month it would take to get back on rotation.

GCALS is looking to sell its Greenville location to a private individual, Hoffman said. One of its three ambulances will be up for sale. The other two will be for the rescue squad's use.