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EMS
Our EMS primary response area consists of 44 square miles covering 4 municipalities. We cover the entirety of Leacock and Paradise Townships. In East Lampeter Township we cover the Eastern and portion Southern portions with the villages of Bird in Hand, Smoketown, Ronks and Soudersburg. The final municipality we cover is a very small portion of the south/west corner of Upper Leacock Township with only about 40 properties. Our coverage area is a mix of residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial properties.
Fire
Our Fire primary response area consists of 11 square miles covering three municipalities consisting of Leacock, Paradise and Salisbury Township. Our coverage area is predominately residential and agricultural with a small portion of commercial and industrial areas.
In total our service area for Fire and EMS is 46 square miles with a residential population of approximately 11,000 people. This numbers peak significantly higher over the summer months and holidays seasons as our district is a very popular tourist destination.
Some popular tourist attractions in our Fire and/or EMS response area are:
The Amish Community- America’s oldest Amish settlement can be found here in Lancaster County PA, with the heart of it focused here in the Pequea Valley region. Statistics report millions of people visit Lancaster County each year (9.77 Million in 2022 alone) with one of the most popular reasons being to learn and experience the “plain lifestyle” the Amish Community chooses to live. Several popular attractions such as AAA Buggy Rides, Abe’s Buggy Rides, Aaron and Jessica’s Buggy Rides, The Amish Experience, Old Order Amish Tours, and Old Windmill Farms are all located in our response district. Amish Farm and House and The Amish Village are also popular local attractions that are not physical located in our response area but offer guided tours that go through our area.
Cherry Crest Farms- A 25 acre adventure farm geared towards teaching kids and adults alike about the agricultural lifestyle has 60+ farm fun activities including a 5 acre corn maze which has been nominated multiple years and was awarded #1 corn maze in American by USA Today in 2020! Cherry Crest Farms sees an average of 100,000 people visiting the farm each year during the operational season of late May – Late October/Early November. Cherry Crest Farm is in our EMS response area.
Strasburg Railroad- The Strasburg Railroad is the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in North America that operate five steam locomotives that take guests on a 45 minute round trip journey offering scenic views through the rolling farmlands of Lancaster County. The railroad sees an average of 300,000 people a year with its historic settings and special events like Day out with Thomas, Christmas Themed Train Rides, Train Caboose Escape Room, and more! While the railyard itself sits just out of our primary EMS response area the entire track system it follows for the journey runs through our EMS response area.
Rough and Tumble- Settled on 33 acres, this museum features antique steam engines, train rides, and a black smith shop. The grounds are open the first Saturday of the month from May through October as well as multiple special events throughout the year that can be found on their website, which includes the annual Threshermen’s Reunion that happens the 2nd week of August every year and is known as the largest Steam and Gas Engine show on the east coast! Rough and Tumble is in our Fire response area.
Town of Bird in Hand PA- A popular tourist stop for visitors to come to while in the area is sprinkled with little shops, restaurants, a mini golf course, hot air balloon rides and the popular Farmers Market. Bird in Hand also hosts several large events throughout the year to include a half marathon, Lancaster Balloon Festival, and more! The peak of interest with Bird in Hand came in 1955 when the Musical Plain and Fancy opened in NYC on Broadway. The play was set in Bird in Hand and is often credited as the boom in the Amish tourism industry. Bird in Hand is in our EMS response area.
Town of Intercourse PA- Similar to Bird in Hand, the town of Intercourse is full of shops, restaurants, museums (American Military Edged Weaponry and Barry’s Car Barn), and Kitchen Kettle Village. This town was also made famous from the movie Witness which was set and filmed here in Intercourse and surrounding areas of Lancaster County, which also is credited for brining a boom in the Amish tourism industry. The town of Intercourse is in our EMS response area.
Kitchen Kettle Village- A historic “village” with over 40 specialty shops, restaurants, canning kitchen and more is a very popular tourist attraction. This place is a one stop shop for great things such as the founding backboard of Kitchen Kettle Village the Jam and Relish Kitchen, fresh baked goods, handmade bags/totes and luggage, leatherworks shop, yarn shop, quilts, home décor, candles, jewelry, a year-round Christmas shop and more! Hosting several special events throughout the years as well is their usual business hours attracts almost one million visitors per year! Kitchen Kettle Village is our EMS response area.
Lancaster Ballon Rides- Operated by the US Hot Air Ballon Team, Lancaster Ballon Rides is the permit ballooning company in south east PA. Offering rides gears towards fun family events, engagements, weddings and corporate events there is an opportunity for all to try this amazing opportunity to soar high above the rolling farmlands of Lancaster County for this unique experience! Lancaster Ballon Rides annual hosts the Lancaster Ballon Festival and Country Fair each year as well. This three-day event has events for the whole family where you can walk around and look at ballons and talk to the pilots, bounce houses, corn maze, hayrides, rock climbing and of course ballon rides! Two sites you are not going to want to miss with this event is the morning ascension when the ballons take off with the morning sunrise and the nighttime “glow” when the ballons light up the sky after dark. This event brings in about 15,000 people per year. The festival and base camp for Lancaster Ballon Rides are both in our EMS response area.
National Toy Train Museum- Fun for all ages, the National Toy Train Museum was established in 1977 and is a world class model railroad and toy train destination for the whole family with seven operating train layouts! One of the largest model railroad and toy train collections in the world, this collection has models on display from the 1800s to present day. The facility also has an onsite research library on model and toy trains and the worldwide business office for the Train Collectors Association. The Museum is opened from April – December. The National Toy Train Museum is in our EMS response area.
Don’t forget if you find yourself in the area and visiting one of these great destinations swing by the station and see if our staff is at the station for a tour! Your best chances for a tour would be at our Gordonville station (3204 Vigilant Street Gordonville PA 17529) as this station houses both Fire and EMS units and our career staff.
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