Lehigh &Lausanne Rural Volunteer Fire Company

Lehigh & Lausanne Rural Volunteer Fire Company is a
small volunteer fire company located in Lehigh Township, Carbon County. We
provide fire and rescue services to both Lehigh & Lausanne Townships, as
well as our surrounding area which includes the following counties, Carbon, Schuylkill,
Luzerne, and Monroe.

Our Mission Statement is as follows; Lehigh & Lausanne
Rural Volunteer Fire Company, is dedicated to protecting life and property by
providing the communities we service with fire safety, safety education, and
fire prevention programs, and providing the mitigation of fire, medical, and
related emergencies with professionally trained personnel, using teamwork and
the resources provided by the community. As a family of individuals committed to
serving others, we will strive to provide for the welfare of our members through
a healthy and rewarding environment.  We are dedicated to respect,
integrity, compassion, and leadership amongst ourselves so that we may proudly
serve others.

Our need is gravely important to our communities. Our 1996
Engine is 30 years old and needs replacement. The truck is having major mechanical
issues and has already cost $10,000.00 this month alone. This has caused a major
hit to our current finances. We have our annual fund drive going; however, the returns
are coming in terribly slowly and are much lower than in the past years.  We receive $5000.00 a year from Lehigh Township
and nothing from Lausanne Township due to their financial state. We are not a municipal fire department like so many other fire companies are.
This means that they receive tax monies, and they buy or help buy the trucks
for themselves. We are not that lucky, we pay for Everything, we buy our
trucks and equipment, we pay for our insurance, which is currently over
$16,000.00, we buy our fuel, maintenance for trucks, and building and grounds,
along with many other items. We do apply for grants and have been successful, however,
the federal government has frozen all federal grant programs. We will hopefully
survive with your help.   

As stated, before our first due, communities are made up of
two townships, Lehigh & Lausanne. Lehigh Township is the larger of the two,
it is made up mostly of Tree farms, State game lands, and State parks. The
primary land use is agricultural, and the primary crop is Trees in both
townships. The State parks increase our transient population by as much as
10,000+ on seasonal weekends, It has been estimated that as many as 50,000 tourists
a year visit our state Parks within the township. Within the Park, the Lehigh
River passes through, which is extremely popular for its white water rafting and
other water sports. Running along the river is the old D & L railroad
trail, a 22-mile trail that runs adjacent to the Lehigh River and is used for biking,
hiking, and other outdoor activities to include snowmobiling and skiing. Several areas with large and remarkably high elevation waterfalls attract professional and amateur hikers and climbers every day. Each year, we
have at least 2 fatalities and multiple serious injuries in the park system.
Some of these incidents take hours and manpower from as many as 6 fire
departments, as well as the State Park service, to help mitigate. The State game
lands also present their issues; these are made up of at least thousands of
acres, and the terrain is exceedingly difficult to navigate. Because of the
terrain, the distance from other communities, and our harsh winters, both
townships have been completely isolated, sometimes for days. This leaves many
in the community without power, food, water, etc. Most of the time, help
cannot reach us under those conditions, so we need to be self-reliant at times.
We average 70 – 100 calls for assistants a year and have been increasing yearly. We have a population of about 900 permanent residents and a seasonal population, which they estimate to be well over 10,000 between both townships on weekends and holidays.
The estimated median household income is $43,389. Residents with income below
50% of the poverty level were at 8.3%, and the State average was at 5.1%. And the Residents with income below the poverty level were 12.2%, the State average
was 11.0%. Most of our calls are spent in the Lehigh Gorge State Park
performing water rescue operations, high and low angle rescues, medical
emergencies, and searches, just to name a few. We operate one of only 3 rehab units
in a 3-county area, which we are very proud of. We have made Rehab a priority
within our company, and we have also been able to educate other companies on
the importance of proper rehab. We operate one station, 1 1250 gpm pumper, 1- 3000 gal tanker, 1- Rescue,  1 brush truck 1 UTV, and 1 rehab truck.