Two volunteer emergency services companies in Baltimore County plan to merge.
The Middle River Volunteer Ambulance Rescue Company and the Middle River Volunteer Fire Company are joining forces, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department.
By becoming one organization, the new company expects to grow its membership, consolidate fundraising and do a better job responding to calls for service in Middle River.
The new company will be called the Middle River Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company.
For now, the company will continue to operate from both the ambulance company station and the fire station, which are about two miles apart, with plans to open a new station along Eastern Avenue in the future.
The companies planned to celebrate their merger with a ceremony Wednesday evening.
The Middle River companies were among several that were suggested for mergers in a report from the Baltimore County Volunteer Firemen's Association in 2014.
The association's report considered ways to streamline the volunteer fire service, which runs 33 stations and complements the 25 stations run by county-paid career firefighters.
The report recommended that Middle River Fire, Middle River Ambulance and Bowley's Quarters Fire become one company.
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