Fire Commission — Burlington, VT
Date: 2025-02-11
Time: 08:30

BURLINGTON FIRE COMMISSION
 Minutes of the Meeting
 February 11, 2025

These are the minutes of the February 11, 2025, Meeting of the Burlington Fire Commission. The meeting
convened at 08:30 hours via Zoom and in person with Commissioners McLaughlin, Chapman, Perkinson, and
Sheehey. Chief LaChance and Administrative Assistant Meghan Sweeney were also present.

Call to Order
Commissioner McLaughlin called the meeting to order at 08:30. He asked for a meeting end time. Motion for
end time of 09:00 made by Commissioner Sheehey and seconded by Commission Perkinson.

Motion to Adopt Agenda
Commissioner McLaughlin asked for a motion to adopt the agenda. Motion made by Commissioner Perkinson
and seconded by Commissioner Chapman.

Public Comment
No members of the public were present.

Review and Accept Minutes from the December Meeting
Motion to accept minutes made by Commissioner Sheehey and seconded by Commissioner Perkinson.

Chief’s Oral Report
Chief Lachance’s report (attached) was previously emailed. Additional discussion of topics included:

Fleet—Chief LaChance expanded that the General Obligation Bond covers different fleet and capital projects.
The Fire Department would benefit from the new Ladder 2 and 2 ambulances. The bond would also allow the
city to match required funds when grants are awarded.
The old Engine 3 and Engine 6 were posted for sale on the website Withgarage.com. The old Engine 3 has an
offer for $61,000 from a town in Wisconsin. This will allow us to pay back $23,000 to the capital fund from the
last purchase of trucks. He’s hoping that the Old Engine 6 truck will sell for around $25,000 to then advocate to
use those funds towards the purchase of a new Battalion 1 car.

Radio System Upgrade—LT Brad Wilson was very helpful with the radio system upgrade project. With leftover
funds, we have purchased an additional desk and equipment for the dispatch center to staff another fire desk.
Dispatch staffing is sufficient and doing well. The fire department had to assist when they were down to three or
four full-time employees, and the police department did a great job getting those positions filled.

Community Response Team – Chief LaChance gave updates and data regarding the CRT in his report. The
CARES team is riding with the CRT crew twice weekly to build their relationships.

Operations—In addition to the items in the report, purchasing a new Car 5 using impact fees has been approved.
The vehicle will be a marked car that can be used for paramedic intercepts, a backup for the shift commander
car, and CRT (the current vehicle only allows for two people).
All companies need to do one building inspection per month. This allows members to get into buildings in their
district to familiarize themselves and know what they look like when there is a call there. Members will also do
a preplan on the building while in there so they can know the layout of the systems.

Commissioner McLaughlin asked if the department has keys to all of the buildings. We have access when a
building has a Knox Box or if the door code has been provided to the dispatch center. If the response isn’t
urgent, we can wait for a key holder to arrive, but if there is an emergency, the department will get into the
building.

Commissioner Perkinson shared that he likes the new layout of the chief’s report and the data provided is very
helpful. He asked what the fine was for a false alarm. An ordinance charges a $100 fine, and the Fire Marshal’s
Office gets a referral when needed.

Commissioner Perkinson again expressed concern over the City’s tendency to bond for trucks. He is concerned
that the delay in having the funds available to make the purchase will result in the department paying higher
costs for the trucks. This is incredibly challenging with the expected increase in aluminum and steel costs. The
City pooling funds for vehicle costs are also a concern to him, as he thinks the department should be able to
manage that budget for their needs, and instead, a pooled fund sets departments against each other.

Commissioner Chapman expressed that she is vehemently opposed to the PREVENT initiative. She is trying to
do research and have conversations with different people who are a part of this initiative. She thinks that there is
a large liability for the department. She referenced a CDC article stating that people who believe they have
access to overdose reversal drugs may take more significant risks and give users a false sense of security. She
ended up acknowledging the drain on the resources, and time we spent as a department responding to those calls
and following protocol. While she has concerns about the addiction to the drug itself, she is trying to speak to
the direct way it affects the department.

Old Business/New Business
 • BFFA has filed a grievance regarding the pension contribution. The grievance hearing will be held on
 Thursday, February 20th, at 08:30 am.

Executive Session
Pursuant to Title 1, Section 313 of the Vermont Statues, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members
present, a motion to go into executive session is carried out to discuss matters where general public knowledge
would place the Department at a substantial disadvantage. The motion was made by Commissioner Perkinson
and seconded by Commissioner Sheehey. The meeting went into executive session at 09:19 to discuss the
details of the union grievance.

Adjournment
The executive session ended, and the meeting adjourned at 09:35.