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Risk & Response

Chittenden County, VT

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 27.1 Relatively Low

169,758
Population
23
Departments
46
Stations
41
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.67
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
1st highest of 14
Life Safety per 100k
0.39
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
8th highest of 14
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$32.6M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
1st highest of 14
Property Loss per Resident
$192
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
14th highest of 14

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Chittenden County, the largest single contributor is Avalanche, 25% of the life-safety total.

Chittenden County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $32.6M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 14 Vermont counties. Nationally, Chittenden County ranks 852nd of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2776th for life safety per 100k residents, 551st for property loss, and 2834th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Chittenden County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Chittenden County.

Talk to us about Chittenden County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

78%
22%
Property (buildings): $32.6M (77.6%)
Life safety: $9.2M (21.9%)
Agriculture: $224K (0.5%)

Total expected annual loss: $41,963,610 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Avalanche
$2.3M
Heat Wave
$1.8M
Cold Wave
$1.5M
Lightning
$1.3M
Strong Wind
$667K
Tornado
$614K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$28.5M
Earthquake
$1.8M
Hurricane
$606K
Strong Wind
$549K
Ice Storm
$541K
Tornado
$233K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Chittenden County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

17%
26%
48%
9%
Career: 17% (4)
Combination: 26% (6)
Volunteer: 48% (11)
Unreported: 9% (2)
Residents per Station
3,690
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
27.1
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 23 departments registered in NERIS Public for Chittenden County, VT. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Chittenden County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 23 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation Wildland Fire 648,378 $41.8M Relatively Low 0
Burlington Fire and Rescue 41,784 $1.7M Relatively Low 5
Stowe Fire Department 17,284 $1.3M Relatively High 2
Underhill-Jericho Fire Department 16,993 $1.2M Relatively Moderate 4
Williston Fire Department 13,700 $1.0M Relatively High 2
South Burlington Fire Department 24,963 $1.0M Relatively Low 6
Shelburne Fire Department 9,872 $889.4K Relatively Low 2
Milton Fire Department 10,769 $881.8K Relatively Low 1
Huntington Volunteer Fire Department 5,810 $726.9K Relatively Low 1
Starksboro Volunteer Fire Department Inc. 5,810 $726.9K Relatively Low 2
Bolton Volunteer Fire Department 6,594 $711.9K Relatively Moderate 1
Westford Volunteer Fire Department 6,594 $711.9K Relatively Moderate 1
Hinesburg Fire Department 5,530 $698.3K Relatively Moderate 2
Richmond Volunteer Fire Department 4,159 $650.9K Relatively High 1
Saint Michael's College Fire And Rescue 12,345 $483.7K Very Low 1
Colchester Fire Department 11,653 $458.9K Very Low 7
Essex Fire Department 11,516 $453.0K Very Low 2
Essex Junction Fire Department 8,293 $322.5K Very Low 1
Winooski Fire Department 6,741 $266.9K Very Low 1
Waitsfield Fayston Fire Department 3,260 $181.9K Very Low 1
Charlotte Fire And Rescue Services 3,916 $163.5K Very Low 2
Globalfoundries Fab 9 Emergency Response 1,127 $45.4K Very Low 1
Vt Air National Guard/Biap Fire Department 0 $697 Insufficient Data 0
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

9.7%
Poverty Rate
16.9%
Age 65+
11.4%
Disability Rate
3.5%
Uninsured
47.8%
Pre-1980 Housing
3.4%
Mobile Homes
4.6%
Vacancy Rate
4.0%
Wood Heat
$99,022
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

12
Last 10 Years
23
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

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