The Lancaster County Fire Dispatch Center received a 911 telephone call from one
of the Sight and Sound employees at 9:19 a.m. The first alarm fire departments were
dispatched for a fire in the building at 9:21 a.m. The initial assignment consisted of four
engines and a tanker which was altered from the established assignment by the emergency
equipment dispatcher because from the 911 call it was known that this incident was a
working fire. The dispatcher added an engine to the assignment because the second tanker
response would be delayed.
Since the Strasburg Fire Department had responded to many needless alarms at the
Sight and Sound Theater, the Dispatch Center alerted the responding units that this incident
was not initiated by the alarm system. Strasburg Volunteer Fire Chief Rick Wentz
immediately requested that a ladder truck be added to the assignment.
The first Strasburg engine to arrive at the theater dropped a 5-inch supply line at
Hartman's Bridge Road and laid out 800 feet of hose up the driveway. There, theater
employees signaled where to position the engine to access the fire. The Strasburg engine
set up in the parking lot near the stage on the east side of the building. There was no fire
visible because of the few windows and openings in the building.
Theater employees advised the officer on the first engine that all employees were out
of the building and were accounted for in the parking lot. The employees then directed the
firefighters to the storage room where they had discovered the fire.
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