Old Fire Farts of York County, Pa.

One of the early ideas tossed around by the "Old Fire Farts" was the idea of bringing a fire apparatus muster event to the York area.

A fire apparatus muster is an event where old and new fire apparatus are placed on display, where the public can examine them up close and personal. Typically, these events include independent judging of the apparatus, with awards being presented to the owners of the apparatus. In addition, there are usually contests involving the apparatus, in particular pumping contests to see which rig and operator can get water flowing the fastest.

After months and months of research and planning, the first York muster was held in 2014. With the grateful cooperation of Manchester Township, we held the first muster in the township's beautiful Cousler Park, a multi-use facility that provided many of our requirements for a muster site.

That first muster was a great success, with a beautiful selection of hand-drawn, horse-drawn and motorized apparatus on display on a gorgeous fall day in York County.

Beginning with our 2015 muster, each muster featured a specific apparatus manufacturer. The muster was never restricted to the featured manufacturer, but rather special awards were given for apparatus from that manfacturer that year. Previous featured manufacturers at our musters were:

• 2015 - Ahrens-Fox
• 2016 - American LaFrance
• 2017 - Seagrave
• 2018 - Mack
• 2019 - Hahn
• 2020 - Ward LaFrance
• 2021 - Oren / Howe / Grumman
• 2022 - Darley

Our fire apparatus musters are much more than just fire trucks on display.

We feature a number of different events and activites during the day. These have included:

• Pumping Contest - Fire apparatus from early hand pumpers to modern diesel fire apparatus compete within their categories, pumping water from a portable tank back into the park's lake.
• Flea Market - Fire service collectibles and equipment is offered for sale or trade by individual vendors.
• Food - Each year, a selection of food trucks gather in our food truck food court to provide a great meal or snack to those in attendance.
• Music - A disc jockey plays music from the 50s and 60s throughout the day, as well as provides announcements to the attendees.
• Kids Korner - Activities, displays and games for our younger guests througthout the day.
• Firefighter Skills Challenge - Introduced at out 2017 muster, the skills challenge allows firefighters to compete with their peers in various evolutions.

In addition to these regular muster activities, there are also special activities that vary from year to year. These have included:

• Hand pumper - The York County Fire Museum brings a replica hand pumper that visitors can operate to pump water like firemen did in the 1800s!
• Bagpipes - The Kiltie Band of York is a regular visitor to our musters, bringing traditional pipes and drums music to the muster.
• Models - A model fire truck display was a big hit at the 2017 muster.
• In 2016, a hook and laader truck that formerly servied in the city of York was dedicated to a firefighter who lost his life on that apparatus.