LYNDON - With the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise over the next couple of weeks across Vermont, many emergency services will have plenty to take care of. This is in part why the Lyndonville Fire Department announced last week that there will be a ban on open burning until further notice. The town of Lyndon Fire Chief and the Town Fire Warden say, "this is an attempt to eliminate unnecessary response by firefighters."
It was also stated that, "firefighters need to be healthy and safe for other emergencies." In addition, with dry and sunny weather forecast for the next couple days, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Forest, Parks, and Recreation issued an advisory last week highly recommending and urging the public to not participate in open burning through the end of May at least. The reasoning was along the same lines of eliminating pressure on emergency services so they can focus on the pandemic. Regardless, the middle part of spring in Vermont has weather that is most conducive for brush and wildfires, so the public will need to take extra collective steps this year due to an all hands on deck situation regarding the health of the community.
Surrounding Fire Departments in the Northeast Kingdom have followed in the steps of Lyndonville as well. The Saint Johnsbury Fire Marshal stated that their "department is also not issuing any burning permits until further notice." Many others are likely to follow as firefighters prepare for potential response to the apex of the virus, as they are a crucial part in the response efforts arguably second to EMS services.