The Columbia Consolidated Fire Department or simply CCFD is based in Columbia Borough, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  CCFD’s Lancaster County-Wide Communications designation is Station 807 (formerly 8-7), consisting of Engine 807 (formerly Engine 8-7-1), Truck 807 (formerly Truck 8-7) and Brush 807 (formerly Brush 8-7).  Squad 8-7 was taken out of service in 2011, needing repairs and being prepped for sale.

CCFD was formed in 2000 with the merger of three Columbia Borough Fire Departments; Vigilant #2 (8-2), Shawnee #3 (8-3) and Keystone #5 (8-5).  The purpose of the consolidation was to pool personnel and resources while greatly reducing annual operational expenses, duplication of equipment and subsequent maintenance.  This also had the effect of maximizing fundraising activities, reducing the workload required to run three seperate entities.

The first “casualty” of the consolidation was Shawnee’s Quint, which was immediately taken out of service.  Soon afterwords, Keystone’s Mack Pumper was also taken off of the active service list.  A few years later, the Keystone building was sold, further reducing the overhead expenses of the department.  This still left Vigilant’s Engine, Brush and Squad in service as well as Shawnee’s Ladder Truck, housed in Vigilant’s house – the most modern facility of the three.  The old Shawnee building remains in CCFD ownership today, but is mothballed and rarely used for anything more than storage while the building remains up for sale.

An item of interest is that Columbia Consolidated Fire Department has entered into merger talks yet again; this time with the remaining fire departments in Columbia Borough; Columbia #1 (801) and Susquehanna Fire & Rescue #4 (804). The goal of this merger is pretty much the same – reduce unnecessary duplication of equipment, apparatus and overhead expenses.  A unified fire department in Columbia Borough could save tens of thousands of dollars each year in operational expenses alone!

What ever the future may hold, CCFD today continues a long, proud heritage of service dating all the way back to the original charter created in 1835.