On Sunday 7/23/17, an evening storm brought a record 4.27 inches of rain in one hour to the Middletown and Hershey areas. This led to significant flash flooding and multiple calls for service, keeping fire crews busy until late evening. One of the larger incidents involved flooding in the community around Lisa Lake. This low lying area is notorious for flooding during heavy rains, with the most recent incident being Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. Crews encountered swift, rising water while residents were trying to evacuate. Crews from Lower Swatara, Middletown, Swatara, Steelton, Hummelstown and Londonderry Fire Dept's deployed inflatable boats and rescuers to assist the residents to safety. All residents displaced by the flood were then transported to a temporary shelter at the Lower Swatara Fire Station to await assistance from the Red Cross.

The Lower Swatara Volunteer Fire Deparment would like to thank all of the Fire, Police, Public Works, EMA and Dauphin County 911 personnel for their assistance and doing an outstanding job to mitigate this event!