Two earn local firefighter scholarships

Brooke Bertrand of Whiting and Spencer White of Vergennes were recently chosen to receive Ray E. Davison scholarships from The Addison County Firefighters Association.

Firefighters rescue man from burning Route 7 home

Ferrisburgh firefighters save local man, but the house was likely destroyed in early morning blaze.

Firefighters work harder with fewer members

As the number of hours that people have to volunteer dwindle in small towns across the county, fire departments continue to struggle to maintain an adequate number of dedicated helpers.

Student takes time from class to fight fires

A.J. Rossbach, a Middlebury College student from Seattle, is breaking boundaries locally and nationwide as a volunteer at the Middlebury Fire Department.

Firefighter group grants scholarships to 2 youths

The Addison County Firefighters Association’s Scholarship Committee this past spring announced that Karissa Livingston and Henry Carpenter were chosen to receive scholarships awarded to Addison County students.

Editorial: Appreciating our firefighters & sending love to UWAC

Not surprisingly, in today’s tight labor market the challenge of recruiting volunteer firefighters is significant. 

City firefighters plan training burn

VERGENNES — A side effect of the purchase and upcoming expansion of Vergennes Residential Care by Charlotte residents Dan and Rebecca Hassan will be to provide valuable training for the Vergennes Fire Department and three of its neighboring departments. P … (read more)

2020 Firefighter Awards

ADDISON COUNTY — In a normal year the Addison County Firefighters Association would hold its annual awards dinner at the Eagles Club in Ferrisburgh  in mid-January with more than 225 firefighters, the governor and many other special guests in attendance. … (read more)

Battell Hose Company honors three for 40 years of service

MIDDLEBURY — Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Middlebury Fire Department and Battell Hose Company cancelled their jointly held annual awards dinner, which is normally in December. They did, however, recognize the contributions of their members via a Zoom … (read more)

Firefighters ramp up training as pandemic subsides

BRISTOL — Many area fire departments are getting back into their regular training and meeting regimens after having been temporarily sidelined by state-mandated restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. And recognizing that departments have had to cu … (read more)

Area fire departments are having a busy summer

ADDISON COUNTY — After a slow late winter and early spring, fire departments in four of Addison County’s most populous communities — Middlebury, Bristol, Ferrisburgh and Vergennes — are reporting above-average summer call volumes. Many of those calls, dep … (read more)

Bristol fire chief Brett LaRose emphasizes teamwork

BRISTOL — The Bristol Fire Department that Brett LaRose leads today is quite a bit different from the one he joined 25 years ago. “Back then it was a unique culture here, more of a club mentality,” LaRose told the Independent during a recent Zoom intervie … (read more)

Children of area firefighters earn scholarships

ADDISON COUNTY — The Addison County Firefighters Association scholarship committee has announced that Sydney Perlee of Bristol and Riley Ochs of Orwell were chosen to receive scholarships in the amount of $500 each, The scholarships are awarded each year … (read more)

Association honors the county’s best firefighters

FERRISBURGH — The atmosphere was celebratory as almost 200 firefighters from 17 local departments gathered at the Eagles Club for the Addison County Firefighters Association (ACFA) 76th annual meeting this past Wednesday. They took the opportunity to pay … (read more)