Rindge Selectmen voted Wednesday to end the town’s contract with Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance (JRMA), approving a higher-cost contract with Peterborough Fire and Rescue to provide primary ambulance coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The board approved the two-year contract in a 2-0-1 vote, with Selectman Tom Coneys abstaining.
Municipal officials cited pricing volatility and staffing reliability as key factors in the transition.
“JRMA’s cost seems to keep doubling,” Rindge Town Administrator Max Vandervliet said. “There is a lot of variability, and I feel that it’s likely attributed to their previous leadership, not their current. However, Rindge needs the stability that a more established ambulance service can provide, because this is an essential service for our community.”
JRMA proposed a 2027 contract rate of $250,000 for Rindge — double its 2026 fee, following a 169% jump from 2024 to 2025 when the contract rose from $46,500 to $125,000. Peterborough Fire and Rescue offered coverage for $280,217 annually.
Tensions between Rindge and JRMA surfaced early in 2026 over funding and contract compliance. During 2025, staffing shortages occasionally left JRMA unable to dispatch units, requiring Peterborough Fire and Rescue to cover calls at $1,000 per response.
A committee formed to study alternatives — including Fire Chief Bob Faas and Vandervliet — evaluated JRMA alongside Cheshire County Ambulance ($299,000 annually), Winchendon Ambulance, and Peterborough.
Faas noted that Winchendon presented out-of-state licensing hurdles, while housing Cheshire County Ambulance locally would have required costly fire station renovations for bunk quarters and sprinkler upgrades.
Under the new contract, Peterborough’s estimated response times range from 15 minutes to the Rindge town line, 21 minutes to the Rindge Fire Station, and up to 25 minutes to the Massachusetts border in Winchendon. Faas noted that while drive times from Peterborough are slightly longer, overall response times should remain comparable because Peterborough maintains full-time, station-ready crews rather than requiring volunteers to travel to a local station first.
In a Thursday announcement, JRMA Chief Adam Langlois acknowledged the upcoming transition.
“This is a significant change for an organization that has served these communities since 1948, but it does not represent the end of our mission,” Langlois wrote, reassuring residents that current operations will continue unchanged through December.
The decision has left neighboring Jaffrey evaluating its own emergency response structure.
Jaffrey Town Administrator Jon Frederick said he met with JRMA staff Thursday, with further discussions scheduled ahead of the Jaffrey Select Board’s Sept. 23 meeting.
Frederick said no final decisions can be made until the town knows the final cost of running the service just for Jaffrey.
“I have asked them to recalculate what it looks like for us without Rindge,” Frederick said. “We don’t have any intention to leave right now, so we are evaluating all our options, and working with JRMA to figure out a path forward. We’re not happy to learn Rindge did this, but we have to figure out our path, and that’s something that’s going to take time.”