York Area United Fire and Rescue, serving Manchester, Spring Garden and Springettsbury Townships in York County, PA has received Accredited Agency status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) for meeting the criteria established through the CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program. York Area United Fire and Rescue is one of only 334 agencies to achieve Internationally Accredited agency status with the CFAI and the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE)

With this award, York Area United Fire and Rescue becomes only the fourth fire department in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to achieve such a milestone.

CFAI is dedicated to assisting the fire and emergency service agencies throughout the world in achieving excellence through self-assessment and accreditation to provide continuous quality improvement and the enhancement of service delivery to their communities. The CFAI process provides an agency with an improvement model to assess their service delivery and performance internally and then works with a team of peers from other agencies to verify and validate their completed self-assessment.

Fire Chief Daniel Hoff stated that the agency’s achievement of Accredited Agency status “demonstrates the commitment of our agency to provide the highest quality of service to our community.” Accreditation Manager, Battalion Chief Joe Madzelan added, “We have also been able to use the Commission on Fire Accreditation International’s process as a proactive mechanism to plan for the future of this agency and locate areas where we can improve the quality of services we provide.”

Link for full media release

In 2024, through a competitive bidding process Manchester Township entered into a 5-year agreement with low bidder, Penn Waste, for curbside refuse and recycling collection services. The 2025-2029 agreement established a 44% increase in collection services. In 2025, the Manchester Township Board of Supervisors took action to not increase rates that were reflective of the new contract.

Per Resolution #2025-19, and after the one-year reprieve in a rate increase, beginning the second quarter of 2026 (April), the refuse/recycling collection rate will increase from $50 to $70 quarterly, reflective of the new contract. The Board of Supervisors is hopeful to hold the $70 rate through the remainder of the 2025-2029 agreement.  Any questions can be directed to the township office at 717-764-4646 extension 101.