The Shelburne Fire Department provides fire suppression, heavy rescue, marine rescue, and hazmat control services.
The Shelburne Fire Department is a 100% volunteer organization comprising professionals with a wide range of backgrounds. We provide essential services to our community, including fire suppression, heavy rescue, marine rescue, and hazardous material control.
Shelburne Fire has roughly 30 members and responds to nearly 300 emergencies each year. Our members also strive to advance public safety through education and fire prevention.
Since its inception in 1941, members have proudly protected life and property in Shelburne, Vermont, a town of 7,000+ residents located along Lake Champlain. Read more about the Town of Shelburne.
Join your neighbors in being part of something bigger and make a connection with your community.
The documented history of the SVFD begins with a town meeting in March 1923.
The idea of neighbors helping neighbors has always been strong in Shelburne. Like many small communities, early town residents likely relied upon each other, forming a “bucket brigade” to fight fires.
The first town-recognized fire committee was established in 1924, and the Shelburne Fire Department was chartered in 1941. A dedicated fire station and town garage were built, which housed the first truck, a 1941 Buffalo pumper.
In the organization’s first year in service, members responded to ten fire calls fielded by phone at the Shelburne Farms Inn’s front desk. A motor-driven siren mounted on the schoolhouse roof served as a fire signal. The total number of alarm cycles gave these early firemen a rough idea of where to respond: three cycles indicated the emergency was in the village or toward Burlington; six that it was south of the village; nine that it was in Shelburne Falls or points east; and twelve that it was on Shelburne Point.
Today, the Department operates out of a single station (built in 1983) and celebrated 75 years of service in 2016.
The idea of neighbors helping neighbors has always been strong in Shelburne. On Town Meeting Day 2023, Shelburne Fire marked 100 years since the Town appropriated the first money towards fire protection. You can read all about it in our history.
In case you missed it, NBC 5 aired a story at the end of February 2023 commemorating this milestone and highlighting the call to join.
Tom Tompkins wrote a detailed history of Shelburne Fire in 2015.
