TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. On Tuesday, a ballot question asked Pennsylvanians to take a side on the Municipal Fire and EMS Services Loan Measure. That very formal-sounding title boils down to a simple idea. Should municipal fire departments and ambulance companies be able to borrow from the state’s loan fund to support capital upgrades? Seems like a kind of obvious call, right? Voters agreed, with 73% supporting the measure. But what does that “yes” vote really mean? The Volunteer Loan Assistance Program was created in 1976. It is a pool of money generated by bond issues that makes it possible for the volunteer fire and EMS companies that make up the largest chunk of first responder organizations in Pennsylvania to obtain low-interest loans to buy their equipment and invest in their infrastructure.