On Monday, March 31st firefighters from West Hempfield and Mountville Fire Companies conducted flammable gas fire training at the Lancaster County Public Safety Training Center.  Firefighters honed their skills at operating a hoseline to cool a pressurized vessel, then moved in to shut off the gas supply.  Basic fire extinguisher knowledge and use was reviewed, then the firefighters used various types of extinguishers to extinguish a gas fed fire.

Susquehanna Valley EMS will be providing hands-only CPR training at WHFR on 4/7/2014. Please see the flyer below for details.

CPR Flier

One Friday January 10 at 7:24 AM dispatched by County Control to a reported Gas Leak on Coronet Avenue in the Township. Upon arrival the area was searched and UGI was notified to respond. Once area deemed safe by UGI incident terminated at 8:51 AM.
Assisted by Mountville and Rohrerstown Fire Companies, West Hempfield Fire Police and Township police and Susquehanna Valley Emergency Medical Services.

On Sunday December 22 at the request for volunteers to assist in packing and distributing food packages to needy residents of Columbia, Marietta, Mountville and Wrightsville the Fire Company provided a group of volunteers who reported around 9 AM to the  Susquehanna Fire Company at 10th and Manor Streets in Columbia.  This event was to support the Columbia Lions Club and Sunsnappers. Over 600 boxes of food consisting of turkey, potatoes, apples, milk, eggs, bread,cheese, soups, filling, cereal and canned goods were packed by numerous community volunteers and distributed. Our members were thrilled and enjoyed being part of this community event.

On Sunday November 10 at 5:50 PM dispatched to a reported Commercial Building fire at 4557 Klinesville Road in the Township. Upon responding County Communications reported numerous calls on this fire. Upon arrival found a 40 by 40 building with total involvement. There were several small explosions inside the structure. Due to safety and no reports of any occupants an exterior attack controlled and extinguished the fire. Several Mutual Aid companies assisted at this fire. A Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. Damage was estimated at $125,000. The incident was terminated at 11:06 PM.

On Saturday October 26 at 7:46 AM dispatched by County Control to a reported vehicle accident with possible entrapment on the 500 block of Prospect Road in the Township. Upon arrival found a vehicle over an embankment and resting upside down. An occupant was found in the vehicle and required extrication. Members stabilized the vehicle and performed extrication. Occupant transported to Lancaster General Hospital by Susquehanna Valley Emergency Medical Services. Incident under investigation by West Hempfield Police Department.

Join us for our annual open house

-Firetrucks on display – Fire Prevention materials on hand – Candy scramble – Firetruck rides – Lunch is provided

Where: Our Fire Station 3519 Marietta Avenue

When: Saturday, October 26

Time: 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM

Members traveled to Elizabethtown on Monday evening September 23rd to attend a Special Vehicle Rescue Class. The class was sponsored by Cocker’s Towing and Eric Rickenbach was the instructor. In addition to our members, Mountville Fire Company and the Susquehanna Fire Company of Columbia participated in the special class using an old school bus to become more proficient in rescue, shoring, forcible entry and extrication situations.

The Fire Company will host it’s annual Rabies Clinic on Saturday September 28 from 8 AM to 4 PM. This is one of the many public services provided by the fire company and provides an economical way to vaccinate a pet against rabies.

Our members had the opportunity the week of February 18th to conduct some training over the past few days on some structures that were scheduled for demolition.  We were grateful that the landowner gave us permission to use these structures to simulate “real life” scenarios.  The structures were used to practice basic firefighting skills such as hose line deployment and ventilation.  Members also practiced self rescue and firefighter rescue skills that can be used in a Mayday event.  This opportunity was shared with our mutual aid fire departments as well.

A Christmas Gathering was held on Saturday December 29^th at the Station. Great evening of fun and socializing. Everybody had a great time. A special thanks to June Kreider and the Support Group for making this event a success.

The Company to sponsor a Public Safety Day on Saturday October 20th from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Fairview Park located at 4380 Fairview Road.

Come join us for a day of fun and fire safety education.

See Fire Truck displays, obtain Fire Prevention learning materials, Fire Truck rides and a Candy drop from a fire ladder truck.

A free lunch and prizes for various games will be provided.

A Ropes and Rigging Class was held on September 25,27,29 at Chickies Rock in the Township. The class was a hands on type training conducted by PA State Instructors Richard Garber, Todd Kirkpatrick and Matt Grant.

The Chickies Rock area is a constant source of response to various rescue type situations this class enforced our skills in meeting high angle and environmental type rescues.

Completing the class was Fire Chief Barry Carter, Kirk Ament, Mark Kniesly, Randy Wissler, Duane Kline, Steve LeFever, Chris LeFever, Nate Charles, Andy Wright and Carol Wright.

Several of our members participated on Sunday September 16th  for the “Never Forget 9/11″Stair Climb at Clipper Magazine Stadium Lancaster City. The “Never Forget – Spirit of America” to commemorate the years of sacrifice for the terror attack on the World Trade Center  in New York City with the loss of life of 343 firefighters.

The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in which volunteers from Lancaster County Departments climbed 110 flights of stairs wearing full protective clothing at the stadium.

We commend out members for their participation in this memorial event.

On August 18-19 several of our members attended Pennsylvania Weekend at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg Maryland.

Barry Carter and Steve Lefever completed  Leadership II.

Nate Charles completed National Incident Management System (NIMS) for Catastrophic Incidents

Duane Kline completed Operations for Small Departments.