The loss of the Starbrick Volunteer Fire Department is just the latest round of bad news regarding EMS response in Warren County.

No one should need to be reminded of just how precarious the first responder situation is in Warren County, but Saturday’s story in the Times Observer is a perfect illustration of why rural EMS response needs to be a top priority of state legislators in Harrisburg.

Starbrick is typically one of the best-performing volunteer agencies in the county, but one of its members has a condition that prevents him from serving. Just like that, one of the region’s top responders is now out of service during the day.

There are now six volunteer fire departments in the county staffed during the weekday hours, though the situation is a bit better during the evening. Starbrick is available during the evenings as are Clarendon, Pleasant and Youngsville.

But, as Ken McCorrison, county public safety director, points out, Warren County volunteer fire departments are walking a thin line between being able to serve or being sidelined.

“I would say comfortably,” McCorrison said, that “each agency is counting on four key people.”

Rural Pennsylvanians need help coming up with solutions and, frankly, paying for those solutions.

But the situation received little attention during this latest round of budget negotiations in Harrisburg, and it doesn’t seem like a high priority in the state Capitol moving forward.

It needs to be.