There's strength in cooperation. We accomplish more together.

It could be fundraising. It could be building a better community. It could even be fighting fires.

One of 10 companies in East Lampeter Township, Hand-in-Hand is Bird-in-Hand's neighborhood volunteer fire company. The name says it all, the mission and the vision.

"To me, 'hand-in-hand' means working together with others to help people who are having the worst day of their lives," said Tim Hoerner, a driver, firefighter and past chief and president at Hand-in-Hand Fire Company. "The success I had when I was president was because of the people around me. You need one or two good leaders and two or three people around them. If you have good leadership, the people will follow, and the money will follow."

Hand-in-Hand Fire Company, which is stationed at 313 Enterprise Drive, Bird-in-Hand, is run by 65 volunteers - 50 or so firefighters, emergency responders and fire police and another 15 support personnel. But when Hand-in-Hand conducts some of its major fundraisers, that number can swell to 450 event volunteers.

"I think our relationship with the community is very good," said Hoerner. "The events indicate that the community is not only accepting our direction but they're also embracing it and supporting it. The people are always coming out and helping us, and we're leveraging their talents and their time. With any organization, if they can solicit help from the community, that organization will be successful. The way we run the organization, it's not a task; it's a way of life."

That proactive, community-engaging approach, which was formally put to pen and paper and instituted in 2009, has led to a financially sound and fiscally stable fire company.

Hand-in-Hand's two major fundraisers are its Lancaster County Carriage and Antique Auction in June and its Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon in September. But the fire company also conducts two chicken barbecues and a chicken potpie dinner each year and also receives donations and government grants mostly for fire apparatus and equipment.

The end result is that Hand-in-Hand's financial ledger is more than $2 million in the black.

"We realized in 2009 that in order for us to be good at our mission and vision, we had to get good at structure," said Hoerner. "We're bucking the trend of fire companies across the state. They're hurting for people and money. We feel like we have our house in order. We've built the groundwork for success well into the future. We think we've done some things other fire companies can look at."

"If we could get to a point where we could rely on our investments, we're not going to stop (fundraising)," he added. "This is what makes us a true volunteer fire company."

Included in Hand-in-Hand's four-truck firefighting arsenal are an $800,000 Pierce Velocity tank truck, a $460,000 Pierce Lance pumper, a $194,000 squad truck and a road rescue squad truck. Hand-in-Hand Fire Company, which covers a 10-square-mile rectangular area in and around Bird-in-Hand, responds to an average of 150 calls per year - structure fires, vehicle accidents, medical assistance and automatic alarms.

"Our mission is to provide emergency services, but you've got to go higher and deeper," said Hoerner. "It's about people and money. Everybody wants to be a part of something fun and successful. There's something special when you're a volunteer and you're helping people."

For additional information on Hand-in-Hand Fire Company, go to http://www.bihfire.com.