The Keystone Hook and Ladder Company No.1 is located in Myerstown, Lebanon County, PA and provides fire protection and emergency services to Myerstown and Jackson Township, which it has done for over 135 years. The Keystone Hook & Ladder Company No. 1 was Instituted March 25, 1875 and Chartered August 17, 1875; and is a member of the Lebanon County Firefighter’s Association and Firemen’s Association of Pennsylvania.
The Keystone Hook & Ladder Company No. 1’s first due area is approximately 26 square miles with a population of approximately 12,400 people and growing. Myerstown and the surrounding Jackson Township area is a rural area with mostly residential housing and light commercial construction. Our first due area also has a major railroad line running directly through the Borough; two major state highways located within the Borough limits and extending through our primary response area and into areas where we provide mutual aid to other departments; a small public airfield located in the Township; a number of schools including two elementary schools, an intermediate school (grades 3-5), a middle school (grades 6-8), a high school, and several Amish and Mennonite schools; and five large retirement communities.
The Keystone Hook & Ladder Company No. 1 is 100% volunteer, all the time. In 2023, we responded to 48 different types of incidents, laid 6,830 feet of hose and raised 1,281 feet of ladders. Our volunteers gave a total of 3,096 man hours on emergency calls plus countless additional hours attending training sessions, doing maintenance on our vehicles and station, attending meetings and fundraising. Our average call response over the past five years is 340 emergency calls per year.