Underhill Jericho Fire Department
Chittenden County, Vermont

Underhill-Jericho Fire Department
420 VT Route 15
POB 150
Underhill, Vermont 05489-0150

The UJFD was formed in 1913 by a group of townspeople who were worried about protecting their homes and businesses. The first piece of fire fighting equipment in the town was a chemical tank mounted on two wagon wheels and stored in a one-door shed connected to the Elbridge Nealy furniture and jewelry store on Park Street. In 1936 a fire station was built at the corner of Park Street and Route 15. The station housed a 1923 Model-T Ford and a 1927 Packard Coupe that were customized with two forty-gallon chemical tanks. In 1936 the town of Jericho started providing contributions and the department began maintaining fire protection for Jericho and Underhill. As the towns grew, so did the fire department. A 1942 army surplus Chevrolet truck, with a 500 gallon per minute pump, was purchased. The first factory built fire truck, an International Model V196 was purchased in 1964. The Underhill-Jericho Fire Department currently operates six pieces of fire fighting apparatus. Each truck carries a mix of fire fighting and auto extrication equipment.

The UJFD fire fighting apparatus operate out of two fire stations. The Jericho substation is located on Brown’s Trace Road in Jericho Center and was built in 1982 on land that was donated to the department by Don and Alice Rivers. This substation is used primarily as a quick response station to calls in Jericho Center and West Bolton. The Underhill station is located at 420 Route 15 in Underhill Village and serves as the main station. The station was built in 1997 and was designed to serve as a fire station and an emergency operations center. This building consists of a 6400 sq. ft. apparatus bay area and a 4100 sq. ft. administrative section.

Jericho Station

Underhill Station

The UJFD is located in the northeast corner of Chittenden County, Vermont. The department provides emergency and fire protection services to Underhill, Jericho, West Bolton, part of Westford, and mutual aid coverage for surrounding towns. The department responds to approximately 200 emergency calls per year. We service all types of calls, from fires and auto accidents to floods and electrical problems. The firefighters perform enough work to fill a 40-hour workweek, yet perform their duties as a part-time job (including attending training courses and committee work). The UJFD has always been a forward thinking department developing modern fire fighting techniques and programs. The department works hard to keep pace with growth of the towns we serve. The department continually examines the type of services needed and works to provide them. We currently maintain three dry hydrants in our towns. 

The UJFD does much more than just respond to alarms. Each year there are dozens of projects the department is involved. The department believes that every week is fire prevention week and work very hard on community fire education. The department’s fire prevention committee works all year long visiting school children and teaching stop drop and roll, and continually reminding people to call 911 in an emergency. We strive to make fire safety issues a fixture in the mind of every young person in the towns of Underhill and Jericho. Department members also provide safety talks at community groups and perform demonstrations at special events.

The department has been the proud sponsor of Boy Scout Troop #627 for 40 years. Troop #627 is the largest troop in Vermont. The department assists the scouts in working to achieve merit badges and well as introducing them to the fire service and what emergency service is all about. In addition, the troop helps to maintain the fire station. 

The department participates in the national smoke alarm initiative that provides smoke alarms to all people that need them. Members of our community should call the station (899-4025) to schedule a time for one of the firefighters to come to their house and install up to five smoke alarms (at no charge). We also provide sandbags for residences that are experiencing flooding and conduct woodstove inspections. When there is an emergency, we respond (this includes accidents with hikers, animals that are in trouble, and medical assists).

The department is also involved in projects outside of our local community. Members serve on the county fire training committee that provides firefighters training to all departments in the county. We also have members that serve as executive board members of the Vermont State Firefighters Association that deal with state and national fire issues.

The Ladies Auxiliary of the department was organized in 1972. At the end of 2002 the Ladies Auxiliary ended after thirty years with two charter members still on the roster, Kitty Clark and Cis Dumas. Even though it sounds like a sad event it was really a turning point with the formation of the Auxiliary coming under the Fire Department's direction. Now male and female members give the Auxiliary a new direction and purpose. The Auxiliary takes on responsibilities for which the members have been properly trained and they continue to provide aid to firefighters in emergency situations and drills by supplying food and water. The auxiliary organizes numerous department activities each year, including family picnics, potluck suppers, sliding parties, holiday parties, children’s visits with Santa Claus, and they help promote fire prevention and safety education in the community.

Complimenting our efforts, department members spend many hours training on emergency operations, the use of fire equipment, and attend special fire schools to improve their knowledge and skills (in the year 2000, firefighters spent 3850 hours in training and meetings, and 2918 hours at emergency calls). The men and women of the UJFD are a group of individuals that are totally devoted to the service they provide. We believe that our department is an exceptional organization with appropriate goals, clear policies, and stringent requirements that help distinguish us from other organizations. Our firefighters are well trained and the department is looked upon as a leader and an innovator in the fire service; indeed, it is admired throughout the State of Vermont. Department members have received statewide honors as firefighter, officer of the year, and chief of the year. The UJFD is the highest decorated department with eight of these awards since 1982. In 2000, the UJFD hosted the Chittenden County Fire Training School.

The success of our department is a direct result of the intense work of our membership. It takes a special person to fill the boots of a volunteer firefighter, someone with a desire to do something important for the community, someone with courage and dedication that isn’t afraid of hard work and is willing to accept the challenge of a difficult job. We proudly participate in the Memorial Day parade, the Cambridge and Richmond Fourth of July parades, and the Vermont Firefighters annual conference.

The UJFD installed Emergency 911 Call Boxes at both fire stations. These call boxes were purchased and installed by the UJFD Fireman's Fund and the boxes are dedicated to the memory of the 343 FDNY firefighters that lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

We are an organization with a clear vision and a passion for the future. Our goal is to be the best community-based, not-for-profit, volunteer fire fighting and emergency response team in the state of Vermont.

The UJFD is headed operationally by a chief officer and six line officers of varying rank. The officers oversee all emergency operations that take place. Administratively, the department is governed by the board of officers (the chief, and the six line officers) and the department membership (33 volunteer firefighters; 22 are trained to fight interior fires).

The volunteer UJFD firefighters are busy at home, busy at work, busy with their families, and busy at the Fire Department. In October, 2007 the UJFD  hire one paid, full-time member of the UJFD. Most of the job functions provided by our full-time employee will greatly improve the service the UJFD provides to our communities as well as ensuring compliance with State and Federal regulations. The most visible part these duties would be the Emergency Medical Services that we would provide, thus ensuring that our communities have the service they expect and deserve. 

Essex Rescue and Richmond Rescue provide medical services and medical transport for all medical emergencies in the communities that we serve. These two rescue squads work in conjunction with the UJFD. Extrication, scene protection, and heavy lifting are provided by the UJFD. We have an excellent working relationship with these two mutual aid response teams. We are members in good standing with the Vermont State Firefighters Association and the Chittenden County Firefighters Association.

The Vermont State Police provide emergency dispatching services for the department from the Williston Communications Facility (one of the statewide 911 answering points). The department is dispatched to emergencies by radio with tone alerting that activates portable radios and pagers. Firefighters respond to the fire station and a department dispatcher oversees radio communications and operates the commuter equipped dispatch center from the main station in Underhill. The dispatch center has information regarding homeowners, water sources, number of occupants, known hazards, and can provide maps.