Our Mission

To Provide a Valuable Service in Fire Protection and Awareness.

We are here to Serve the Community and are Committed to Excellence.

The Lower Swatara Fire Department is 100% volunteer. Our members spend countless hours training in house and at local training facilities. They provide a vital part of public safety not just to Lower Swatara but to neighboring areas as well. We are always ready to respond to your emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We take pride in knowing our community is safe all day, every day.

Lower Swatara Township is located in Dauphin County, South Central Pennsylvania, six miles outside of Harrisburg City, along the Susquehanna River. Lower Swatara is comprised of residential, commercial, industrial, educational, agricultural and government properties. The Lower Swatara Fire Department covers about 15 square miles, they also provide mutual aid to surrounding townships and boroughs that include Middletown, Derry, Swatara, Highspire, Londonderry, Hummelstown and many others. The population is about 10,000 in the township area. Lower Swatara Fire Department provides fire suppression and rescue operations that include auto extraction/rescue, environmental, industrial and water rescue along with public education. The Lower Swatara Fire Department also covers many highways that run through the Township area, such as RT 283, RT 441, RT 230 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Over a million people travel all these roads daily.

 

 

Knox Box Program

For Businesses and Residences

Whether at a residence or a commercial occupancy, when there is an emergency, the fire department needs safe, quick, easy, and reliable access to the structure.

When no other alternative exists, the fire department can always resort to conventional forced entry. While we are well equipped to perform this task, it is not always the fastest or least expensive alternative.

A Knox Box is a vault-style secure key storage unit found near the main door of most if not all Lower Swatara businesses. Inside these square black boxes are where keys to the occupancy, provided by the owner, are placed.

During an emergency the fire department cannot always wait for a key holder to arrive before we gain access. In the past, if the fire department needed to make entry, we used conventional forced entry. In an extreme case, a lot of costly, physical damage may have been done to a door, window, or wall; then, after all was said and done, there was no good way to re-secure the property.

With a Knox Box, fire fighters are able to make efficient, safe access to your home or business. After the emergency is over, the keys can be locked back up in the Knox Box and the building re-secured.

Only the Fire Department has the right to open the Knox Box. These keys are secured in a vault of their own, located in fire department vehicles which can only be opened by Dauphin County Communications. There is total accountability.

If you would like to enquire about this item, please contact our Fire Marshal's Office at (717) 939-9377. The Fire Marshal's & Codes enforement is located at the Lower Swatara Township Building.

Lower Swatara Township
1499 Spring Garden Drive
Middletown PA 17057

http://www.knoxbox.com/ for more information on the Knox Box System

WHTM 27 News and the Kiddie Fire Systems

The Lower Swatara Fire Department has teamed up with WHTM 27 News and the Kiddie Fire Systems to make sure that there are smoke detectors in every home. Through this program, WTHM 27 News has provided smoke detectors to our department for us to install in homes, free of charge. If you are in need of smoke detectors, please contact us via email LowerSwatara59@gmail.com (Best Option) or at 717-986-9059 and leave a message to set up a time for us to comeout to drop off these life saving devices.