Crews battle second fire in as many days

Fire crews responded to a fire Tuesday afternoon at about 4:30 at 833 Houston Street to find flames showing through several windows. Firefighters from Columbia, Mount Joy, Wrightsville, Maytown, and Marietta battled the fire for well over an hour in humid conditions.  Although occupants of the residence were displaced by fire and subsequently helped by the Red Cross, those on the adjacent side of the duplex were able to reoccupy. As with Monday’s fire on the 700 block of Locust Street, the fire was caused by unattended cooking in the kitchen of the residence. Belfor Property Restoration secured the property with plywood on doors and windows. The house is owned by Israel Weiss of BHI Properties at 254 Locust Street.

National Night Out, Tuesday, August 4







National Night Out will be held on Tuesday August 4, 2015 from 5 to 8 at 


Glatfelter Memorial Field.


Special Programs:


Canine Demonstration (field behind pavilion) 6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.




Ellen’s Traveling Reptiles (football field) hosted by Dr. Stephen Perry 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.




Skateboard Demonstration (basketball court) through the services of AJ Kohn 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.




****   Fill a Cop Car   ***** Please remember to bring donations to benefit the Columbia Food Bank; fill the police car in the lot behind the home stadium




Balloon Release (football field) at 7:50 p.m. to celebrate Reaching Out to One Another.






Wish list:   Peanut butter, jelly, boxed instant rice, boxed instant potatoes, canned potatoes canned peas, spaghetti noodles, canned stew, dry beans, baked beans, chunky soups, beef vegetable soup, drink mixes




Many community organizations are participating.   Food and drink provided.   


Borough Offices: 308 Locust Street / Phone: 717-684-2467

Columbia Borough Fire Department resources moved to HQ at Manor Street

Apparatus and equipment from the newly consolidated Columbia Borough Fire Department has been moved to the new headquarters at Manor Street.

The following information is posted on their website:


Monday, August 3, 2015  With the consolidation nearing completion, units from station 801 were moved out to station 804. Station 804 is now CBFD 80 Headquarters. The call signs of all apparatus have been modified and went into effect at 0800 hours. The truck, rescue, and both engines will be housed on Manor Street. The squads, boats, Special Unit, and Traffic Unit will be housed temporarily at the Front Street station.

Engine 801 remains Engine 801

Engine 804 is now Engine 802

Rescue 804 is now Rescue 80

Truck 801 is now Truck 80

Squad 801 remains Squad 801

Squad 802 remains Squad 802

Rescue 805 is now Squad 803

Boat 801 remains Boat 801

Boat 802 remains Boat 802

Boat 804 is now Boat 803

Special Unit 801 is now Special Unit 80.

Traffic 80 remains Traffic 80

All turnout gear has also been moved out to Manor Street.

The CBFD website is HERE.

Fire call on the 700 block of Locust

The newly consolidated Columbia Borough Fire Company responded to a fire call on Locust Street this evening, joined by vehicles and personnel from Wrightsville and Mount Joy Fire Departments. The emergency reportedly stemmed from a grease fire in the kitchen at 729 Locust. The fire spread when an occupant threw water on it in an attempt to put it out.  After attending to the fire, crews used fans to ventilate the residence as well as the neighboring property at 731 Locust.

About Town

Recent shots from around town . . .

Neighbor helping neighbor
 Easy rider?

 Dressers dressing up the sidewalk

 Texter texting on the sidewalk

 Counter counting on the sidewalk

 New porch furniture

Territoriality

Columbia Kettle Works gets OK for outside seating

Columbia Kettle Works, 40 North Third Street, recently received approval from Columbia Borough and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to provide outdoor seating along a 6 x 55 foot section of sidewalk in front of the establishment. The area will also include wrought iron fence and awnings.
Bill Collister, the owner of the brew pub, approached Columbia Borough Council about the issue at the May 26 meeting of the whole (as well as a subsequent council meeting).  At that meeting, Collister asked council for a variance to allow sidewalk tables and seating. He stated that his enterprise has succeeded in bringing people into town and that his customer base is fairly well-off. He also stated that his business is more of an attraction than a bar and closes by 10 p.m. Council informed him that such seating must be at least 20 feet from any adjacent street (for example, Walnut Street or Avenue H) and that a number of parking spaces versus seats must be provided, according to ordinance. 

Columbia takes next step on Susquehanna Gateway agreement

Columbia Borough Council recently announced its intention to enter into a professional services agreement with the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area (SGHA) for the management of the Columbia Crossing trail services building at Columbia River Park.

At its July 27 meeting of the whole, council discussed details of the proposed agreement with Mark Platts, president of the organization.

Councillor Jim Smith said cost-sharing with other members of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail, of which Columbia is a part, “should be part of this dialogue and part of this contract.” He said those municipalities, which include Marietta, Bainbridge, Falmouth, and Middletown, should be contacted to see if they would be willing to share the cost of the proposed Susquehanna Gateway project. “I heard the argument where that’s going to bring commerce to Columbia, but its going to bring commerce to other towns, also” Smith said. “I think it’s a gift that keeps on taking.”

Platts said his organization’s approach to the process of creating a professional services agreement includes getting additional funding from other partners including the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Lancaster County, and Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority. “Those are the appropriate and key partners, because those are the partners that are encouraging developing and helping to facilitate and fund the whole Northwest Trail,” Platts said. “This building [Columbia Crossing] obviously would be the signature gateway to that trail. We’re going to work hard to develop the details of the agreement and come to the table with all the funding to provide the level of service we proposed in our overview.”

Smith said he does not want management of the Columbia Crossing building to be detached from the rest of the park, to eliminate conflict in the planning and utilization of the park. Platts said that although SGHA did not plan to manage the entire park, in the future it could reassess where it stands and then decide if there would be a bigger role for it to play – at an additional cost.

More information on the agreement can be found HERE at Columbia News, Views & Reviews.

Information on the trail can be found HERE and HERE.

Budget and funding summary – from a Power Point presentation at the May 26 meeting of the whole.