Grand Isle's line runs out into the water, and 18.59 of the
35.01 square miles inside it are water. The land figure is the
Census count; the total is the boundary VCGI draws.
The station
17 Hyde Rd
Photograph by T. Garvey, 2026-08-29
The 7,400 sq ft station on Hyde Road. Engine 1, a 2018 Freightliner/Ferrara, and Engine 2, a 1993 Freightliner/E-One, each carry 1,250 gallons; plus a tanker, a heavy rescue, a brush truck, a trailer and a boat. Source
Grand Isle's department began in 1951 with a 1928 Chevrolet truck carrying a portable pump, and someone's garage for a station. Calls have climbed in recent years, and 2025 set a new record.
1951
The department starts with a 1928 Chevrolet truck with a portable pump on the back, kept in a member's garage.
2025
148 calls, a record, with July averaging nearly one a day: structure fires, crashes, alarms, hazardous materials, medical assists, and marine and ice rescues. The department proposes a level budget for the second year running, at the Selectboard's request.
148 calls that year
Grand Isle in Grand Isle County. Every fire station in the county is marked —
1 here, 5 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.
Money
About three-quarters of the operating budget comes from the town and a quarter from fundraising and donations. With the town's share held level, the auxiliary has been asked to raise more in 2026.
Fiscal year 2027 (proposed)
Town appropriation
$105,000
Fundraising and events
$26,000
A proposed total of $131,000, up from $127,500 for fiscal 2026.
Town appropriation by year
FY2027 (proposed)
$105,000
FY2026
$105,000
FY2025
$105,000
FY2024
$90,000
FY2023
$75,000
From the department's budget page in the 2025 town report.
Working here
With 22 active members covering the town around the clock, the department wants more volunteers, for interior firefighting, traffic control, driving and pumping, exterior support and more.
Junior firefighters at 16 and 17; firefighters from 18
Training at your own pace and level
Training nights are Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., per the 2025 report (the website still says Wednesdays)
Stop by the station, call 802-372-5012, or email Chief White at awhite@grandislefire.org
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
Address signsThe department's reflective 911 address signs help crews find your house.
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.