Status: Defunct
Founded: 1972
Ceased Operations: 2024
Service Area: Allenstown, Hooksett, Pembroke
Number of Bases: 2
Annual Run Volume (2023): 1,422
Dispatched By: Hooksett Police, Capital Area Fire Mutual Aid Compact
Tri-Town EMS was established in 1972 as the Tri-Town Volunteer Emergency Ambulance Service. It was a privately operated service organized by EMTs from Allenstown, Hooksett, and Pembroke following the dissolution of VFW Community Ambulance, which had previously served those towns. VFW donated its ambulance, equipment, and garage space on Central Street in Pembroke to the new service. Dispatch was initially provided by Hooksett Police.
In 1974, Tri-Town added a second ambulance. A 1977 addition to the Central Street garage created a second apparatus bay and a second-story space used for living quarters and training. Through the early 1980s, the service operated primarily with volunteer staffing, providing full-time BLS coverage with part-time ALS availability. In 1986, per-diem daytime staffing was implemented to ensure consistent coverage. A third ambulance was added in 1988, with the fleet designated as Ambulances 500, 501, and 502. In 1997, Tri-Town transitioned to 24/7 ALS coverage.
By 2003, one ambulance was staffed 24 hours per day, with a second staffed during daytime hours (8:00 AM–6:00 PM) and housed at Hooksett Central Fire Station. In 2005, dispatch operations transitioned from Hooksett Police to Capital Area Fire Alarm in Concord.
In 2012, Hooksett did not renew its contract with Tri-Town after establishing its own fire department-based ambulance service. Allenstown and Pembroke subsequently restructured the organization into a municipal service in 2013, renaming itself to just Tri-Town EMS. That same year, the service relocated from the Central Street garage to the Pembroke Public Safety Building on Pembroke Street.
Tri-Town traditionally operated white ambulances with a burgundy stripe. In 2017, the service adopted a gray-over-yellow color scheme with the delivery of a new Type III ambulance designated Ambulance 8. That same year, Tri-Town was named New Hampshire EMS Service of the Year.
In 2022, Allenstown was licensed by the state for ambulance transport and began transitioning to an independent service model. For approximately two years, Allenstown and Tri-Town operated concurrently while the transition took place. In mid-2024, Allenstown assumed full ambulance coverage for the town, leaving Tri-Town to serve Pembroke exclusively. The organization was subsequently restructured as Pembroke EMS, concluding the Tri-Town regional service model that had operated since 1972.