The Columbia Consolidated Fire Department (CCFD) is an all-volunteer (which means we are not paid) organization located in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, serving the community of Columbia Borough which has approximately 10,300 residents.  It is also a family-friendly organization; many members bring their entire families to special events, fundraisers and other social occasions.

Annually, CCFD personnel answer more than 300 alarms, participate in more than 5,000 hours of training and nearly as many hours are dedicated to fundraising efforts as well.  Many hours are also dedicated to educating the public by raising fire safety awareness.  Additionally, many CCFD personnel donate hundreds of hours of their time and expertise to save the department tens of thousands of dollars in technical, maintenance and repairs costs.

However, with increasing financial demands on individuals and families to make ends meet, finding and keeping enough qualified personnel has become a major concern for our unpaid staff.  The problem is compounded in smaller communities such as Columbia Borough that have less of a population base from which to draw from.  Additionally, each year the amount of time and money that it takes to properly train firefighting personnel has increased exponentially too.

For example, in 1990 training a new firefighter took approximately 72 hours at a cost of roughly $325.00; in 2010 those numbers have ballooned to well over 300+ hours and more than $3,500.  From just a dollars and cents perspective, CCFD and ultimately the residents of our community receive a much better return on investment by retaining trained and experienced personnel.

Related to that is the fact that there is no fire tax in Columbia and CCFD receives less than 7.5% of it’s annual operating expenses from the Borough of Columbia.  That means members that are already working full time jobs and donating an average of 20 hours per week for meetings, maintenance as well as training must also work another 10 hours on average to help raise the difference.

CCFD Needs Your Support!

If you are interested in becoming a firefighter or supporting our family-oriented organization, please visit our Recruitment & Retention page.  If you have any questions or would like to get started, please use the Contact Form or call the firehouse at 717.684.2695 to speak to a member about an application or making a tax-deductible monetary contribution.