Traditionally all-volunteer, Ludlow hired a full-time chief because, as the town manager put it, the town's population can reach 30,000 in winter.
2024
Peter Kolenda retires as chief after 25 years; Ben Whalen becomes the first full-time chief.
2025
Voters approve $3,623,000 to replace Tower 1, more than 30 years old, and Engine 3. Town meeting also adds $2,500 for Okemo Valley Technical Rescue.
Ludlow in Windsor County. Every fire station in the county is marked —
1 here, 27 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
The fire department is part of the town's general fund.
Fiscal year 2025 (actual)
Fire department spending
$456,218
Against a budget of $294,850, from the town's audited accounts. Fire department charges for services brought in $31,461.
New trucks
Tower 1 and Engine 3, approved 2025
$3,623,000
From the Vermont Journal's report of the 2025 town meeting.
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.
Read in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Not recorded yet
Nothing is written up here for joining, burn permits, call volume.
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.