Fire Protection in the Town of Chili - An Analysis of the Chili Fire Department and the Clifton Fire Department

CGR was engaged by the Town of Chili to study the current status and future prospects of the two volunteer departments located within the Town – the Chili Fire Department and the Clifton Fire Department. Chili FD covers the largest portion of the town, approximately 21 square-miles. Clifton FD covers a 12 square-mile area of the southwest/southcentral part of the town and six square miles of the Town of Riga. Most of the Town of Chili’s population and planned growth are located within Chili FD’s coverage area, while the Clifton FD area is largely rural, including several working farms and a county park. CGR considered a number of factors and scenarios affecting both departments and the town, including future volunteer and financial sustainability, and whether it makes sense for the departments to merge. While there are operational and equipment efficiencies possible in a merged department, CGR ultimately concluded that the two departments could best maintain their current volunteer bases by remaining separate at this point in time. CGR modeled an upcoming transition of both departments to hybrid/combination departments that utilize limited numbers of paid staff to supplement volunteers, and provided the Town of Chili with practical long-range planning advice for potential additional station construction and configuration, and regional coordination with neighboring towns.

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Report Date: May 2026
Author(s): Paul Bishop , Kieran Bezila , Katherine Bell
Subject(s): Government Reorganization/Dissolution
Location: Monroe, New York