Firefighters honored at annual dinner

The Middlebury Fire Department and Battell Hose Company held their annual awards dinner last month at the VFW Post 7823 in Middlebury. The dinner was attended by current, former, and life members of the Middlebury Fire Department, as well as by the members of the board of directors of the Battell Hose Company, and guests including Middlebury Police Department Dispatcher Supervisor Liz Tracy and Paula Cole of Cole’s Flowers.

For 14-year-old George Cammack attending the 2024 Fire Cadet Academy hosted in Pittsford by the Vermont State Firefighter’ Association was one of the few times he stepped foot outside of his Ripton home this summer.

Addison County’s community firefighters are a special breed of volunteers who, almost uniformly, spend hundreds of hours each year training and reporting to duty for one reason: a desire to give back to their communities.

Saturday was a typically hot summer day, and there was a lot of cool water splashed and sprayed in the G. Stone Motors parking lot in Middlebury. But it wasn’t kids playing in the water — it was adult men and women.

The Middlebury Fire Department will host the Vermont State Firefighters Association 134th annual convention, slated for this Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27, in the county’s shire town.

When a truck hauling gas caught fire on Route 7 last year, the Ferrisburgh fire chief thought it was a once in a career event. Then it happened again this week — and many firefighters turned out to help douse the blaze.

Newly proposed federal rules aimed at increasing the safety of first responders could ironically cause the death of many firefighting and rescue organizations in Vermont and throughout the country, according to public safety officials here in Addison Coun … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — The Addison County Firefighters Association Scholarship Committee has chosen Ellison Thomas and Elias Pike to receive scholarships awarded to Addison County students. A formal presentation was made at the Association’s quarterly dinner me … (read more)

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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)