Burlington's line runs out into the water, and 5.05 of the
15.35 square miles inside it are water. The land figure is the
Census count; the total is the boundary VCGI draws.
Central Fire Station, in service since 1926 and the busiest firehouse in Vermont. Home to Engine 1, Ambulance 1, Tower 1, Rescue 1 and the shift's Battalion Chief. Source
The John D. Boardman Station, opened 1980, also houses the Fire Marshal's office and training. It is dedicated to the five members of the department who died in the line of duty: Firefighter Scott L. Allen, Deputy Chief George K. Carty, Firefighter Frank S. Osicky, Captain Joseph J. Linnan and Lieutenant Steven N. “Vinny” Costello. Source
In service since 1895, the oldest working firehouse in Vermont and one of the oldest in the country. Engine 3 is assigned three firefighters but, short-staffed, usually runs with two. Source
Completed in 1991 around the original 1950s station, which is now its gym. The city's page gives the address as 1397 North Avenue; the state's E911 record, which 911 dispatch uses, has the building at 1391. Source
Burlington has had a paid fire department since 1895, and one of its first firehouses is still in service. It now answers more calls than any other department in Vermont: 11,345 in fiscal 2025, the busiest year in its history.
1895
After the station near the site burned, the city founds a paid fire department. Station 3 on Mansfield Avenue goes into service with a horse-drawn steam engine and hose cart; it is still the oldest working firehouse in Vermont.
1926
Central Fire Station, Station 1, opens on South Winooski Avenue.
1980
Station 2, the John D. Boardman Station, opens on North Avenue in the Old North End.
1991
Stations 4 and 5 are completed. Station 4 is built around the 1950s firehouse that once held one engine and three firefighters' beds.
2021
Ambulance 4 in the New North End is permanently staffed, with voters' support.
2022
Calls jump by nearly 1,600 in a year, to 9,864; medical calls are about 70%.
9,864 calls that year
2025
The busiest year in the department's history: 11,345 calls, about 31 a day. Chief Michael LaChance retires and Michael Curtin becomes the 20th chief.
11,345 calls that year
2027
A new recruit academy begins on 25 January; a replacement ambulance is due in May.
2028
A second new ambulance and a replacement for Ladder 2 are due.
Calls
Calls have risen by more than half in a decade. About three in four are medical: every Burlington engine and ladder carries paramedic-level equipment, and every ambulance crew are firefighters too.
Calls for service, by year
~7.0kFY14
~7.2kFY15
7.5kFY16
7.6kFY17
7.9kFY18
8.2kFY19
–FY20
8.4k2021
9.9k2022
11.0k2023
11.1kFY24
11.3kFY25
From the fire department's section of each year's city annual report. FY is the fiscal year to June; 2021–2023 are calendar years, as those reports gave them. FY14 and FY15 are given as “over” a figure; the FY20 report gives no total.
What the calls were, 2022
Medical and rescue6,817
False alarms1,332
Service calls793
Good intent, nothing found648
Hazardous conditions151
Fires116
Calendar 2022, by national incident class (NFIRS); 9,864 in all, 7 others.
The busiest vehicles
Engine 1Station 1 · busiest engine in Vermont3,806
Ambulance 1Station 1 · busiest ambulance in Vermont3,604
Ambulance 2Station 23,140
Engine 3Station 3 · 20222,273
Ladder 2Station 22,213
Tower 1Station 12,068
Ambulance 4Station 42,002
Ladder 4Station 41,558
Engine 5Station 5 · 20221,022
Battalion 1Station 1 · command669
Calls each vehicle answered in 2023, except Engines 3 and 5, for which the city gives 2022. A call usually sends more than one vehicle, so these add up to more than the total.
Burlington in Chittenden County. Every fire station in the county is marked —
5 here, 22 in neighbouring towns, which is
who turns out on a mutual aid call.
Boundaries and water from VCGI; fire district lines are not town lines, and
village districts and contracted coverage cross them. A town line runs out into
the lake, so the shoreline here is the water drawn over the boundary, not the
boundary itself.
Who answers where
Each station answers first in its own part of the city, and the others back it up. Burlington also gives automatic aid to Winooski for some calls, and technical rescue to a neighbouring town.
Area
First due
From
Downtown
Engine 1, Tower 1, Ambulance 1
Station 1, South Winooski AveChurch Street, the waterfront, offices and schools
Old North End
Ladder 2, Ambulance 2
Station 2, North AveHomes, apartments, a state highway
The Hill and UVM
Engine 3
Station 3, Mansfield AveUVM and UVM Medical Center, about 22,000 people
New North End
Ladder 4, Ambulance 4
Station 4, North AveHomes, schools and senior living
South End
Engine 5
Station 5, Ferguson AveHomes, breweries, light industry, a fuel depot
Money
The fire department is budgeted at $20.7 million for fiscal 2027. Ambulance billing brings back $3.2 million of it; the net cost to the city has grown by about half in four years.
Fiscal year 2027, Mayor's recommended
Fire department, spending
$20,718,651
Ambulance fees, revenue
$3,212,155
Fire safety fees, revenue
$430,000
Total revenue $4.10 million, including grants and transfers. From the draft FY27 budget documents.
Net cost to the city after fees and grants
FY2027, recommended
$16,616,496
FY2026, amended budget
$14,948,252
FY2025, actual
$12,311,955
FY2024, actual
$11,736,898
FY2023, actual
$11,156,490
Spending less revenue, as the budget worksheet reports it. The 2025 annual report puts the front-line fleet at an average of five years old, with a new Ladder 2 on order for 2028.
Working here
Burlington is hiring now: applications for entry-level and lateral firefighters close at 5 p.m. on 12 October 2026, for a recruit academy starting 25 January 2027.
Entry-level starting pay $67,556.02; lateral $70,933.82 to $85,049.27
On top: 4% for Advanced EMTs, 10% for paramedics
48 hours on, 96 off, after a 16-week in-house academy
EMT certification needed to apply; Advanced EMT within two years, with classes provided
Entry-level: a current CPAT by 31 December 2026; Firefighter 1 within a year of hire
In an emergency dial 911. These are business lines.
Burning
Vermont requires a Permit to Kindle Fire from the town’s Forest Fire Warden for anything larger than a campfire — except where snow covers the ground at the burn site, or the fire is at least 200 feet from anything that will carry flame. Wardens can suspend burning outright when fire danger is high. Who to ask locally is recorded department by department; where it is blank below, the fire department itself is the place to start.
For residents
Fire Marshal's officePlan review, fire investigation, public education and a juvenile fire-setter programme.
Fire permits and formsFire alarm, sprinkler, kitchen hood and tent permits, applied for online.
Doing work on a building?Call Fire Dispatch on 802-864-5311 first; if an alarm goes off unreported, the owner pays for the false alarm.
Read in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Not recorded yet
Nothing is written up here for burn permits.
Not because it does not exist — because nobody has typed it in. If you know this
department, tell us and it goes on the record with its
source named.