Lyme Fire Department

01/30/2026

Lyme Fire and EMS responded along with Hanover and Thetford Fire and Lyme and Orford PD to the Dartmouth Skiway to assist the Dartmouth Ski Patrol with a lift malfunction requiring extrication. The Dartmouth Ski Patrol identified the number of individuals requiring extrication from the chair lift and along with technical rescue team members from Lyme, Hanover and Thetford quickly and efficiently began removing occupants from the chairs.

All 59 occupants on the lift were removed in 90 minutes then checked for any potential cold weather injuries by EMS and brought to the main lodge to meet family and rewarm. One patient ultimately was transported to DHMC for treatment.

The operation was completed with quick, safe and efficient work by all rescuers. All operations occurred before dark with no injuries reported to any responders.

Thank you to all responders who came to assist the efforts of the Lyme Fire Department and the Dartmouth Ski Patrol. It was an impressive cohesive effort by many teams working together from multiple agencies.

Aaron Rich
Lyme Fire Chief

A lift malfunction at the Dartmouth Skiway on Thursday stranded 59 people for about 90 minutes.

01/24/2026

Good evening Lyme,
We are looking at a week or more of single digits and below 0 degree temperatures.
At this time, forecasts are evolving that show a significant amount of snow accumulation Sunday through Monday.
Both of these are normal and expected winter weather.
The reason that your public safety team is reaching out at this time is that this powerful storm is affecting much of the United States from the Rockies through the mid-Atlantic states and New England.
A storm of this strength and coverage will involve all of the utility companies that are often tasked with assisting our local utility companies when we have a power outage that is isolated to our area. This is going to be a wide spread event, so if we experience power outages, restoration may take longer then usual.

The good news;
The predicted winds and wind gusts are not of damaging speeds.

Our utility companies are communicating with State and local agencies to report that they have increased crew staffing, materials and equipment are ready and staged to respond to any outages.

Utility crews had a successful season trimming trees this past summer. The forecasted snow is predicted to be light and fluffy.

We are NOT EXPECTING Ice. This is very positive for us. Lyme Highway is prepared to address this storm.

What we all can do to prepare for the storm.
Make sure your generators are fueled and ready and all electronic devices are charged.

Make sure exhaust vents for any generators and heating appliances are cleared of snow or any blockage.

Consider filling a tub or a few buckets of water to allow flushing of toilets if power is lost.

If houses have mini-splits, wood burning appliances or other heat sources and you have radiant heat in your floors or baseboard radiators, it is important to turn up the thermometer at least once per day to allow hot water to circulate through those pipes that are sitting against cold walls to prevent freezing of these legacy systems.

If you are going outside wear multiple layers and watch for signs of frostbite.

Keep your pets inside or bundled up.

Follow manufacturer directions on clearance of any heating devices but a minimum of three feet from any heating source is critical.

If you don’t need to go outside it is best to stay in, but if you do go out be prepared and please check in on any friends or neighbors.

When the snow is falling, please give space to the Lyme Highway plows who are trying to keep the roads cleared. (This means stay off the roads if possible)

We will update the Listserve if required.
Thank you and stay warm,

Michael Hinsley
Lyme Emergency Management Director
Aaron Rich
Fire Chief Lyme Fire Department
Andy Miller
Captain Lyme Fast/EMS
Scott Bailey
Lyme Highway Department
Chief Anthony Swett
Lyme Police Department

11/14/2024

The Lyme Fire Warden has turned off Burn Permits for any outside burns town wide with the current conditions. We expect this to continue through at least Monday or until real rainfall occurs. This also means not burning leaf piles.

Please also take a few extra moments to make sure your fireplace ashes are fully extinguished. With the low humidities and winds we've been having, ash piles can rekindle and start fires.

The state has been extremely active with fires and is now in High or Very High fire risk status across the entire state.

As a reminder, outside fires require a burn permit(except when the ground is covered by snow) and they can be purchased at https://nh.burnsafeamerica.com/ or through a fire warden. Fires that are started without burn permits are considered illegal burns and are subject to fines.

Thank you for your cooperation, here's to some significant rain soon!

11/11/2024

Thank you to our Veterans! Your dedication and service for our country are appreciated and not forgotten.

10/17/2024

Lyme & Beyond,

As the weather patterns begin to shift and we notice more and more smoke columns rolling out of chimneys in the mornings I wanted to send a reminder on a few important safety checklists.

Many of us have multiple heating systems in our homes and it's important to their safe operation to have them serviced or checked annually.

For Wood Stoves this means making sure the chimney and stove have been inspected and cleaned to ensure safe clean operation. Oil Boilers and chimneys often require at least an annual service to ensure the burner and system are operating at peak efficiency to reduce potential for Carbon Monoxide or backfires occurring from incomplete burns. And last on Propane systems having them serviced is important but also please clear away any vegetation that might be present outside the home near the vent to prevent any issues. This same area should be shoveled during the winter snow build up to prevent Carbon Monoxide issues in your home. A clear heating vent is critical to the safe operation of your device.

If you have any questions on the operation of your home heating devices and their safe operation or servicing guidelines please reach out to your delivery companies for advice or in the case of chimney cleaners/wood stove technicians the list serve recently had a post on local cleaners/installers.

Smoke Detectors

The theme of this year's Fire Prevention week was "Smoke Alarms: Make them work for you".

Please take 5 minutes to check the functionality of your smoke detectors and replace the batteries to ensure proper operation. I can guarantee only one thing, FIRE DOES NOT CARE if your detectors are operational, your life can depend on being alerted by these devices.

Did you know Smoke detectors should be replaced every 10 years? Many homes we visit for false activations or to help reset systems have devices that have been in place through 2 new painting cycles of the home, or in some cases 10 Presidential terms.

Replacing these life saving devices with new technology can help alert you to danger faster and reduce the frequency of false alarms that cause homeowner frustration. Today's house fires are quicker to grow with thick black smoke from so many of the plastics in modern homes, so early notification and extra time to escape matters. 30 years ago people often had up to 20 minutes from the beginning of a fire to the room and it's immediate area being fully involved, many studies are now showing that timeline is as low as 4-5 minutes. Early notification from smoke detectors is CRITICAL to survival in these new modern fires.

For guidance on locations Smoke detectors should be installed please visit the NFPA's site on Smoke detectors or this publication from your New Hampshire Fire Marshalls Office.

In the region over the past months there have been fires that have had good outcomes with early notification of occupants, which in turn allowed early notification of 911 and early arrival of Fire/EMS. There have also been examples of bad outcomes where smoke detectors were not present and loss of life and/or complete property loss have occured.

Take a few moments to review your home setup, I can not tell you how many homes we go into where there are smoke detectors on the counter or have battery drawers opened "until they can get fixed/replaced" and end up covered in dust with absolutely zero chance to help save your life.

We, the members of your Lyme Volunteer Fire Department live in this community, we know you from the hardware or country store, dump runs, school events or see you out and about at gatherings in our neighborhoods or the common. I know with absolute certainty none of your local responders want to see a fire involving serious injuries or fatalities that could have been prevented with smoke detectors.

Please take time today to help us prevent the loss of life or serious injury and reduce property damage in our community.

Take action, Help us Help you by ensuring this simple home device is fully functional and up to date. If you are unable to purchase smoke alarms or do not have them currently and would like additional information/advice please checkout the American Red Cross's Northern New England Home Fire Campaign.

Thank you,

Aaron Rich & your Lyme Volunteer Fire Department members.

https://www.nfpa.org/events/fire-prevention-week

https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/home-fire-safety/pbs

https://fsri.org/research/new-comparison-natural-and-synthetic-home-furnishings

https://mm.nh.gov/files/uploads/fmo/remote-docs/2023-smoke-alarms.pdf

https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/home-fire-safety/smoke-alarms

https://www.redcross.org/local/me-nh-vt/about-us/our-work/home-fire-campaign.html

Modern homes and furnishings burn faster and more intensely than ever before. Learn how to stay safer with information from NFPA.

08/05/2024

The Lyme Fire Department would like to announce there will be a graveside service for retired Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Thompson at the Highland Cemetery in Lyme on Saturday, August 10th at 11 am. A celebration of life will be held after the service at the Lyme Fire Station.

Lyme, NH Wayne Thompson, 75, died peacefully on Sunday, March 24, 2024, at DHMC with his daughters, son-in-laws, grandchildren, great-children, and nephew by his side. Despite his battle with serious medical conditions in recent years, he showed his courage in facing life challenges with a smile. De...

07/17/2024

Tornado confirmed to have struck Lyme last night 7/16 at 7:30pm.

The NWS toured town today with the FD and the Emergency Mgmt and confirmed that we did in fact have a tornado touch down in Lyme. It was confirmed to have 110mph winds which puts it into a high level EF1 almost an EF2 event.

We were very fortunate to not have any injuries or loss of life in this event, although several property owners in this community are working through repairs.

Thank you to the citizens of this community and beyond for allowing space for ongoing repairs to our energy grid, we hope to have most if not all services restored this evening town wide.

Aaron Rich & Michael Hinsley
Fire Chief & Emergency Mgmt Director

07/17/2024

Additional photos and videos of damage. At this time Whipple Hill Road is still closed, but huge headway has been made and full restoration is expected by this evening. Post Pond Lane is also nearing open status.

07/17/2024

Video provided by a Lyme resident last night of the funnel cloud(tornado? Waiting on official confirmation from NWS).

07/17/2024

Whipple hill road from Rte 10 to Culver Hill along with Post Pond Lane are closed due to multiple trees, wires and power poles that are down from an unconfirmed Tornado that hit the area.

Please avoid this area to allow utility and town crews to work and restore services throughout the night and morning hours without interruption.

Thankfully no injuries were reported from damaged properties or from our emergency services and highway crews who worked to restore access via roads unaffected by the power issues.

Thank you to Orford Fire for standing by and providing coverage to the Town of Lyme while operations were underway.

04/12/2024

Darrin Spaulding passed away unexpectedly on April 9, 2024, at the age of 59. With heavy hearts, we announce his passing as a dedicated firefighter, cherished family member, and beloved member of the Ascutney community. Darrin dedicated 44 years to the fire service, rising to the position of Chief i...