The Porters Community Fire Company came into existence when a group of public spirited citizens met and decided to form a company on the 10th of May in 1949. Arrangements had already been made for the purchase of a used fire engine, a 1927 Stutz from Rufus Snyder at Brodbecks, Pa. The initial down payment of $100.00 was provided by the Porters Athletic Association. After the down payment was made, the truck was driven to Porters by George Ernst, Stuart Yingling, and Richard Bailey. $150.00 remained to be paid on the truck. It was decided at that time to organize and seek a charter.   An election took place which resulted in the following office selection:

At the time of this first meeting of the newly formed company, thirty eight men from the community signed the charter list. Shortly thereafter through the efforts of Charles D. Rabenstine and Jesse L. Crabbs, a charter was applied for and granted by the Courts of York County on July 16, 1949.

The Charter members include the following:

After the charter was granted, a Ladies Auxiliary was formed.

The officers of this first election were:

The Ladies Auxiliary became very active in the community and made many contributions to the fire company through the years.

During the first year of the organization, the membership rose to 118 members. By August of 1949, the company had developed far enough to consider the erection of a suitable building for housing the fire apparatus and also to serve as a community hall. Through the kindness of Paul L. Brillhart, the company was given a tract of land where the members began to make plans to erect a building. Memberships and contributions were sought. Public minded citizens donated logs. The logs were hauled to the local sawmills of Curvin Reynold and George Kraft where they were sawed into lumber for construction. The building was erected with volunteer labor from the community. The building served the company until the mid 1960’s when two truck bays and a meeting room was added.

The company apparatus from the beginning, a 1927 Stutz pumper, served until 1953 when a new GMC Chassis with an American pump was purchased to replace the original pumper. Later on a 1951 Chevrolet panel truck was purchased for use as a service truck. A need was realized for a tank truck in fighting rural fires. As a result, a 1946 Ford tank truck was purchased from Wentz Oil Service in Hanover. This truck remained in service for many years until it was replaced by a 1962 GMC with a capacity of 1200 gallons.

The 1951 Chevrolet panel truck was replaced with 1959 Dodge van and later the Dodge van was replaced by a 1972 Chevrolet Step van.  This was used to carry more equipment that had been added over the years. In 1975, realizing that the 1952 GMC pumper, although still in good operating condition, was inadequate for the growing township, the Company decided to ask for bids for a new fire engine to supplement the older truck. A 1976 Mack MB chassis with a Waterous pump rated at 750 gpm and a 500 gallon booster tank was purchased.

With the acquisition of another pumper, the fire hall had to be renovated by knocking out a wall of the meeting room to accommodate the new piece of apparatus. The company functioned in the crowed building for several years, all the while realizing that a newer larger building was needed. It was decided to formally appoint a building committee to pursue the possibility of erecting a new fire station and hall. This committee was Co-Chaired by Bernard Gardner, Gene Nace, and Joe Legore.

Through the generosity of the P.H. Glatfelter Company, a four acre tract of land was located at the corner of Porters Rd and Thoman Dr. was donated to the Fire Company. With this as a start, the building committee began in earnest to proceed with plans for fund raising drives and various projects. After many hours of planning, visiting other fire stations, talking with contractors and so forth, the committee was able to come up with basic plans and ideas to present to an architect. The architect selected was John Bittinger. After the initial plans had been drawn up and corrections made, bids were asked for on the proposed building. The successful bidder was Hostetter Construction Company of Hanover.

In November of 1982 ground was broken and by October of 1983 the building was ready for occupancy.

Over the years upgrades have been made to the property. The parking lot was black topped in the 1990’s. In the spring of 1987 a 1971 Chevrolet Tanker was purchased from the Pleasant Hall Fire Co. in Franklin County. This piece replaced the 1962 GMC Tanker. In 1990 A New Pierce Engine was purchased to replace the 1952 GMC.   The 1952 GMC pumper still sits in the station, but is out of service. In 2000 the membership decide to purchase a Freightliner to replace the “71” Chevrolet Tanker.

The Chevrolet Tanker was sold to the Triple Creek Ranch in Montana in March of 2001. Over the years we have added a Bruch Truck, a used Service Unit and in 2006 we purchased a “07” Suburban to be used as our QRS Unit. In 2011 a KME Engine was purchased from the Hanover Fire Company to replace the 1990 Pierce Engine and the Service Unit.

In 2012 a Trailer was purchased by Heidelberg Township so we would be able to haul equipment and barricades to close off the roadway during an emergency. Realizing that we have many hard to each areas within our Township and neighboring areas a 2012 Polaris Ranger was purchased with a state grant.