The Goshen Fire Company started in 1950 in a small garage in the Milltown section of East Goshen with one fire truck and has grown to what it is today, two stations housing 15 pieces of fire apparatus including 3 engines, 2 ladders, 1 rescue, 4 EMS units, 1 traffic unit, 1 brush truck, 1 support unit and 2 chief response vehicles. The Fire company responds to over 500 fire emergencies a year and well in excess of 3500 EMS calls a year. The Goshen Fire Company provides fire, rescue and EMS services to East and West Goshen Townships, Westtown Township and Willistown Township. The fire company covers approximately 25 square miles and protects over 25,000 residents. The area we cover has become so populated that we have two stations to help provide adequate coverage to the residents. The fire company has become so busy we now employ 8 full time firefighter/EMTs and several part time firefighter/EMTs to help respond to the calls for service.
Fire
The Fire division has approximately 30 volunteer firefighters who respond to emergency calls as they arise. Most of the volunteer firefighters are alerted to a call by a pager and respond to the fire station from home. Basic fire training is approximately 175 hours and the training does not stop there. The fire crew trains weekly as well as attends outside training classes to better their skills. Many of our fire crew have numerous certifications and are always attending advanced schools to better their firefighting skills.
EMS
The EMS division has approximately 30 volunteer EMTs who staff the stations to respond to calls for medical assistance. The basic EMT class the members attend is over 200 hours and they are required to attend continuing education annually. Several of our EMT’s have attended advanced medical training such as paramedic level certification and other advanced medical training courses.
Fire Police
The Fire Police division has approximately 15 active volunteers who respond to calls providing traffic or scene control to protect our responders and public at fires, auto accidents, and special duty police requests. The Fire Police training is about 40 hours and includes traffic incident scene management, crowd control, HazMat awareness, and several NIMS(National Incident Management System) classes. The Fire Police are vital to the effective operation of the Firefighters, EMT’s, and police department at an incident.
Auxiliary
The auxiliary has approximately 20 volunteers that provide the monthly breakfasts, many special events in our Banquet Hall, purchase much desired crew items, and even provide food for our responders at some of our larger incidents.
Administration
Our administration provides the structure and handles the business operations of the company. It’s no small task and is required for our active responders to respond daily in the community. This team invests countless hours of administrative duties behind the scenes.