06/18/2026
Wednesday afternoon June 17th, at approx. 3:15pm, units from East Lampeter Township Fire Departments and the Lancaster County Rescue Task Force were dispatched to Dutch Wonderland Amusement Park in East Lampeter Township for a high angle rescue.
The Task Force responded with 20 team members and numerous support vehicles.
These additional units were also dispatched to the scene: Ladder towers from Lancaster City Bureau of Fire, Garden Spot Fire and Rescue and a Tractor Drawn Aerial from Manheim Township and an EMS Response
Information on dispatch was the "Sky View" ride had stopped running leaving riders stuck in the air on the ride. This ride was open air gondolas that made its way around the park, overhead.
Incident assessment counted 23 riders which needed rescue from the ride. They included children of all ages and adults. Some of these riders were rescued by the fire department aerials, but some had to be rescued by rope systems, built by the team members. Team members ascended those rope systems to secure the riders in harnesses and rappel back to the ground with them. In a little over 1 hour plus, all riders were back on the ground and evaluated by EMS. None of the riders required any medical treatment or transportation to area hospitals.
The park was cleared of attendees by park employees during the teams working.
Photo credits: LCRTF, Garden Spot Fire Rescue, Makin, the Hit, and others.
