Members of the Allentown Health Bureau and Allentown Fire Department were among the thousands who assisted Philadelphia officials with the visit of Pope Francis this past weekend.

AHB Manager, Emergency Preparedness MaryEllen Shiels and a member of the Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps are returning to Allentown this morning after spending the weekend staffing a shelter. They were part of a 12 volunteer squad from the area. They were bused into the city from the Cetronia Ambulance Corps through arrangements made by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Philadelphia Health Department.

Four bomb technicians from the Allentown Fire Department bomb squad were sent to a Montgomery County staging area on Saturday and Sunday for a 12 hour shift both days. They did respond to one minor incident that was not connected to the papal visit.

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