About NCRR
Established in 1967, New Cumberland River Rescue, A non-profit organization, was founded in 1967 to provide water rescue, safety training and community services to Central Pennsylvania.
The New Cumberland River Rescue team of volunteers is comprised of your neighbors, your friends and maybe even your relatives. They’re people just like you – with families, jobs and active lifestyles who still find time to give back to their community. NCRR offers a friendly environment for you to discover your capabilities and make the most of your volunteering investment.
Established in 1967, New Cumberland River Rescue, A non-profit organization, was founded in 1967 to provide water rescue, safety training and community services to Central Pennsylvania. When there was a drowning in the Susquehanna River, a handful of fire volunteers founded the organization because there were no services available to recover the body for the family.
The original facility was located at Second and Maple Avenue in New Cumberland. The unit had a donated bread truck and a cleaner’s truck in a single car garage. Member boats were used for rescue missions.
In 1972, the organization was totally devastated by the flood and lost considerable equipment, including our facility on Maple Avenue. Aggressive fund raising, generosity from the people and New Cumberland gave us the funds to build our current facility at 1127 Market Street in New Cumberland.
New Cumberland River Rescue is made up of 3 Department of Health Certified Quick Response Service units, a Polaris ATV 6X6, a Rehab trailer, 3 inflatable boats, 2 aluminum boats, a dive team, a Traffic Support Unit and a Brush and Wildfire unit.
We currently support all water related emergencies in Cumberland County, York County in conjunction with the ATR (Advanced Technical Rescue) Team, and in the counties surrounding Cumberland. We will respond upon request to any area in the Commonwealth for any search, rescue or recovery operation.
We also provide support for fire emergencies with our Rehab and Traffic Unit. The rehab service is made up of medical providers who are trained to handle medical emergencies for both fire personnel and fire victims. The Traffic Unit provides traffic support when requested.
Our dive team consists of forensically trained divers who preserve and recover remains and evidence in conjunction with law enforcement.
Our volunteers are proud to serve the community by organizing the Halloween Parade in New Cumberland, providing training for local water rescue departments, scouts and residents on safe boating and survival methods.