Garden Spot townlively.com
FEBRUARY 2, 2022
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LVIII • NO 6
Family Firefighting History hen Stefan Kuenzli was a young boy, he said he wanted to be a firefighter. Although Stefan took a few career turns before joining Manheim Township Fire Rescue (MTFR) as an employee in 2019, he has been a volunteer with Garden Spot Fire Rescue (GSFR) since the age of 14, and he serves GSFR as deputy fire chief today. Stefan now works full-time for MTFR and volunteers up to 12 hours a week at GSFR, an effort he claims is not unusual among MTFR’s paid firefighters. “Almost all the full-time people at Township also volunteer in their home communities,” he said. Firefighting is a tradition in Stefan’s family. His father, Ernie Kuenzli, who passed away in 2019, was a lifetime member at GSFR, joining in 1975. His uncle, Randy Kuenzli, recently stepped down from the chief’s position at a volunteer station in Maryland, having previously served as chief of the Southern Manheim
W
rescue has changed dramatically. “Vehicles are always changing,” he said. “Compare a new vehicle to one from 20 years ago when we have to cut it apart. It’s a lot more involved and technical than it used to be.” Construction has changed as well, and that affects how building fires are fought. “We don’t deal with standard dimensional lumber,” said Stefan. “They are making engineered gluedtogether joists and stairways that burn away a lot faster, so you have only a third or a quarter of the time to get out of the house.” He noted that there are special dangers for firefighters in the smoke and chemicals they deal with in a building fire. Stefan compared firefighting to playing football. “It’s a team sport with individual assignments,” he said. “Everybody on the offense has the same goal, but the wide receiver’s job is very different from the lineman’s job. If everybody does their job right, things go smoothly.” Readers who would like to learn more about GSFR may visit www.gsfr39.net, call 717-354-8311, or email chief@gsfr39.net.
CEF After-School Clubs Return To Lancaster County BY ANN MEAD ASH
In the fall of 2021, Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) Good News Clubs went live again across Lancaster County and beyond. In the spring of 2022, in-person clubs are planned for elementary-age students in the school districts of Columbia, Conestoga Valley, ELANCO, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Hempfield, Lampeter-Strasburg, Manheim Township, Penn Manor, Pequea Valley, Lancaster, Warwick, See Good News Club pg 2
Stefan Kuenzli, Garden Spot Fire Rescue deputy fire chief, works full time for Manheim Township Fire Rescue.
Annual Sportsmen’s Banquet Scheduled
Tracy Breen will speak at the Ephrata Area Churches sportsmen’s banquet on March 11.
The Ephrata Area Churches’ annual sportsmen’s banquet was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, but this year, the group, which includes about a dozen Ephrata- and Akron-area churches, is planning to hold the event. The speaker will be Tracy Breen, a full-time outdoor writer, speaker, and marketing consultant. He will speak on the topic of “Outwitting a Big Game Animal’s Senses.” The family-friendly banquet will be held on Friday, March 11, at Yoder’s Restaurant, 14 Tower Road, New Holland. Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. so attendees can view vendor and other displays. Dinner will be served at 6:15 p.m. A number of door prizes will be given out at the event as well. Breen is from Muskegon, Mich., where he was raised by a family that included a number of hunters and trappers, who introduced him to their love of outdoor adventures when he was quite young. His father made
JAN 17 - FEB 5
See Sportsmen’s Banquet pg 4
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Salem Church Sets Bible Game Day . . . . . . . .2 Local Library Posts Calendar . . . . . . . . .5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 House Of Worship . . . . . .11 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . .12
scan this code for more local news
+ MANY MORE NO INTEREST IF PAID IN FULL WITHIN 36 MONTHS*
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Engle Printing Co
POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER FEB. 2, 2022
Postal Patron
GDN
Good News!
Township Company on Fruitville Pike and captain at the Eden Fire Company, where Stefan is now stationed. Stefan’s 14-year-old son, Trevor, became a junior firefighter with GSFR in October of 2021. Stefan received his firefighter one certification in 2007, firefighter two in 2008, and his Emergency Medical Technician certification in 2009. Stefan graduated from Garden Spot High School in 2004. Before graduating, Stefan attended Lancaster County Career and Technology Center to study residential carpentry, and he worked briefly for a framer before spending 15 years at 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service in New Holland. Stefan said that both working on fire trucks and learning about building construction have been valuable in firefighting. “It’s a good base knowledge to have,” he said. Stefan said that the art of firefighting and rescue has changed significantly since he joined. “It was a different ballgame when I joined 21 years ago than it is now,” he said, noting that training requirements have increased and that vehicle
Fivepointville • Lancaster • Wyomissing PA00591
R080001
BY ANN MEAD ASH
