Welch Joins Firefighters, Community Leaders to Celebrate Nearly $600,000 in Federal Funding to Help Build New Fire Station in Saxtons River

Feb 20, 2026
Welch meets with EMS providers to discuss bicameral ‘EMS ROCS’ Act
BELLOWS FALLS, VT –Today,U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.)visited the Rockingham Municipal Fire Department’s Bellows Falls Fire Station tocelebrate new federal funding—championed and secured by the Senator—to help build a new fire station in Saxtons River with expanded emergency services. Senator Welch secured$598,000for the Rockingham Municipal Fire Department’s Saxtons River Station in a recently-passed funding bill, through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process.
“Decades-long funding shortfalls have made it increasingly hard for local fire stations to meet the needs of rural communities. In Saxtons River, where firefighters are operating out of unsafe facilities damaged nearly 15 years ago by Tropical Storm Irene, that struggle is even tougher,”said Senator Welch. “I’m proud to have secured nearly $600,000 in federal funding to bring taxpayer dollars back to Rockingham to support our firefighters and expand emergency services.”
The Senator also joined EMS providers and community leaders in Bellows Falls to discuss hisEmergency Medical Services Reimbursement for On-scene Care and Support (EMS ROCS)Act,a bicameral bill that requires the government to pay for vital EMS services, regardless of whether a person needs an ambulance ride to the hospital.
“I was also pleased to speak with EMS providers who are on the frontlines of medical emergencies here in Windham County. Right now, these folks aren’t being reimbursed for some of the lifesaving services rural communities depend on–we need to fix that,”said Senator Welch. “Congress must pass myEMS ROCS Actto ensure that EMS providers here in Rockingham and across our state are duly paid for the invaluable care they provide.”
View photos from the event below and on the Senator’swebsite:
In November, Senator Welch joined Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) in introducing the bipartisanComprehensive Alternative Response to Emergencies (CARE) Actto require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to test a five-year “treatment-in-place” model in which Medicare reimburses EMS providers when they treat a patient outside of the hospital, such as for minor medical incidents, rather than transporting them to a hospital for care.
Learn moreabout theEMS ROCS Act of 2026.
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