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Pleasant Valley Station Survey Results

Writer's picture: Underhill Jericho Fire DepartmentUnderhill Jericho Fire Department

The UJFD would first like to say thank you to the 150 people that responded to our survey by Survey Monkey, email, US Mail, dropped by the fire station and even the phone calls. We received a great number of comments for question 9 and we appreciate all of your thoughts and opinions.


We did think it would be good to try to give some short answers/comments to address some of the comments sent in.

​There were several kind notes of appreciation for the service that the UJFD provides. Thank you! They mean a lot!


  • While it is correct that not all insurance companies use ISO ratings to set the cost of their policies. We have found that most companies won’t tell you the premium difference on “What if” the FD had a better ISO rating. We have talked with an Underhill resident that is an insurance agent and he did some homework for the “What if” questions and he provided the data that we used. We would be happy to give you his name and number if you would like more information.


  • Will the budget increase with this new station? Yes, there would be a small budget increase to support the operating cost of the new station. We estimate the annual additional cost to operate this station to be about $7,500. We used the actual operation cost we have on the Browns Trace Station to get this number. This amount is rather small when divided over the two towns and would likely be minimal impact on anyone’s individual taxes. The cost to build the new station is already included in the UJFD’s capital budget.


  • Will the UJFD ask for a new truck once this station is built? The UJFD has a well thought out replacement plan for its fleet and being that this station has been in the capital plan for more than 20 years there is no additional apparatus planned to support the addition of the Pleasant Valley Station.


  • Design and Size concerns. We have not done any work on a design for the new station. We used 2,400 sq. ft. as a reference only. We have held a great deal of discussion on the design and the need for it to blend with the area. We have been contacted by a local Architect firm that has offered their services to the UJFD at no cost.


  • Are there Firefighters that live near this station? We do currently have Firefighters that live in this area and we expect to attract a few more once the station is built.


  • How do I find out more about serving on the UJFD? We would love to have you join the department, please check out this page about joining or contact Captain Harry Schoppmann at harry@ujfd.org or 899-4025.


  • Why can’t Cambridge cover this area? The Cambridge Fire Station is located on Church Street in Jeffersonville and is five miles from the Underhill/Cambridge town line. The UJFD has and will continue to call the CFD for assistance however being that they are more than five miles from this area ISO still rates the area as a Class 10 “no recognized fire protection”. The location for the new station on Pleasant Valley road, in the area of 500 to 600 is the “best” location. We do have offers for the use of land in the general area to consider.


  • Fire Trucks on Pleasant Valley Road with Lights and Sirens? While the UJFD does answer about 400 +/- emergency calls each year, not every Firefighter or Fire Truck responds to every call. We expect the truck assigned to Pleasant Valley to respond to 25 to 30 emergency calls per year and that there would be two to four Firefighters responding to this station.


  • Why should Jericho pay for this new station? The communities of Underhill and Jericho share many services, such as, Schools, Libraries, Parks, Fire Department and more. Neither town could afford the quality of any of these items/services on their own. The UJFD budget is shared 60% by Jericho and 40% by Underhill. We consider that 80% of the budget is the cost to ready to respond. The 60/40 split is reviewed by both Selectboards and the Fire Dept. regularly and it is based on population, grand list and the number of emergency calls in each town. The UJFD built the Browns Trace Station in 1982 and the residents of Underhill have been sharing in that cost for over 35 years. Many people have said it is time that Jericho helps Underhill.


  • What about North Underhill? We do recognize that the North Underhill area is like that of Pleasant Valley. Being that the Town of Underhill anticipates that there will be more growth in Pleasant Valley we are focusing on that area right now.


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420 VT-15, Underhill, VT 05489, USA

+1 802 899 4025

©2025 by Underhill Jericho Fire Department.

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