Fire Company Finds New Home In Richmond Square

"For our municipality this (station) goes a long way," said Scott Little, who recently became chief of Manheim Township Fire Rescue (MTFR). Little is pleased with the new station in Richmond Square, which opened on Jan. 10 and is expected to reduce response times in the area by 50%.

Station 202 is located at 600 Richmond Drive, Lancaster, in a former bank building owned by and leased from Oak Tree, which owns the adjacent commercial buildings. "We are standing where the bank teller windows for the drive-through were," said Little, referencing the engine bay that holds the pumper truck, a piece of equipment strategically located at the station for primary fire tech purposes.

The placement of the station with the engine and the response time to area fires are tied to Manheim Township's Insurance Services Office (ISO) number, which Little noted dictates what homeowners and commercial buildings pay for insurance premiums. "The lower your ISO number, the better," said Little, who reported that on a scale of 1 to 10, Manheim Township is rated a 3. "Hopefully with this station placed here, we will go to a 2," said Little, who went on to explain that Manheim Township and Lancaster city are the only areas in Lancaster County with a 3 rating. "Nationwide, there are 11,000 fire departments that are graded, and only 2,500 are (rated at a) 3 or lower," noted Little. "We are in a pretty good category, and a (rating of) 2 will be better yet."

Little commented that MTFR and East Petersburg Fire Company have automatic mutual aid, but as an all-volunteer company, East Petersburg does not have three firefighters on duty 24/7 as the Richmond station does. "We have one full-time employee always assigned here, and he is augmented by two part-timers," said Little, who added that with 81 paid positions and 31 volunteers, MTFR is the largest fire rescue agency in Lancaster County.

Beyond the engine bay, the new station has a meeting room, two bathrooms, a shower, and a computer area to handle emails and documentation on calls the fire station has received. Rooms that served as offices for bank employees have been enlarged into private bunk rooms, and space has been allotted for gym equipment, which will be funded by a federal grant.

"It's a nice repurpose of the space for what we need," said Little. "We looked at the needs in this area and for the best place to put a station," he added. "Rather than finding land and spending a lot of money for land development and an architect, we went this route." The addition of the station in that location means quicker response to the station's primary area, which runs north of Granite Run Drive to the Manheim Township border, north of Erb's Quarry Road, and between the western Manheim Township boundary east to Blossom Hill and Weaver Road.

An open house at the new station is tentatively planned for the spring. More information about MTFR may be found at https://mtfr.net.