The Municipality of Skagway, Alaska (pop. 1,240) covers 434 square miles of land at the head of Lynn Canal, but almost everyone lives in the town of Skagway. One department protects it: the Skagway Fire Department, founded by volunteers in 1898, which today combines paid firefighters with volunteers, runs the Skagway EMS ground ambulance and issues local burn permits. It responds from one station on 17th Avenue to the town, Dyea Road and the South Klondike Highway. Areas off the roads have no structural fire protection.
Skagway Fire Department (non-emergency)
(907) 983-2450- Municipal dispatch (non-emergency; notify before any permitted burn): (907) 983-2232
- Fire department fax: (907) 983-3450
- Skagway Fire Department, 308 17th Ave, Skagway, AK 99840, USA (mail: PO Box 421)
- sgyfire.org (Skagway Fire Department)
- Office hours: Not published
Who Provides Fire Protection in the Municipality of Skagway
- Skagway Fire Department (SFD) — also called the Skagway Volunteer Fire Department (state FDID 12200). Residents formed it in early 1898 after a series of fires, with Hose Company No. 1 and Hose Company No. 2; when Skagway incorporated in June 1900, the first city ordinance made it the town's fire department. Today it mixes paid firefighters and volunteers: at the February 2023 Packer Building fire, the borough manager said nearly all paid firefighter personnel responded along with several volunteers. SFD also provides the Skagway EMS ground ambulance.
Call 911 for any fire or medical emergency; the department lists a municipal dispatch line, (907) 983-2232, for non-emergency notices. The Dahl Memorial Clinic is the only primary health clinic in the area. Serious patients go to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau (about a 45-minute flight) or to Whitehorse General Hospital in Yukon, about a two-hour drive up the Klondike Highway. No other fire department in the borough is listed in the state directory.
Fire Departments in the Municipality of Skagway
| Department | Type | Main station | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skagway Fire Department | Combination (paid + volunteer, ambulance) | 308 17th Ave, Skagway, AK 99840 | (907) 983-2450 |
Volunteers are not always at the station. For anything urgent, call 911 rather than the station number.
Estimated Response Time
Because the borough is large and mostly roadless, we estimate only over the area the station actually covers (r ≈ √(area ÷ (stations × π)), using census land area). The Skagway census-designated place, the town and its immediate surroundings, has 9.445 square miles of land, about 123 residents per square mile, and one fire station, which gives an average distance to the station of roughly 1.7 miles. SFD combines paid staff with volunteers, so we use the combination baseline. On Dyea Road and along the South Klondike Highway, which runs 14.4 miles from Skagway to the Canadian border crossing at Fraser, there is no estimate; areas away from these roads have no structural fire protection.
| Radius | Combination department |
|---|---|
| ≤ 1.5 mi | 5–8 min |
| 1.5–3 mi | 7–10 min |
| 3–6 mi | 9–13 min |
| > 6 mi | 13+ min |
Typical expectation: about 7–10 minutes in the town of Skagway; longer on Dyea Road and the highway.
Estimated Fire Control Time
| Fire size | Example | Indicative time |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Grass patch, dumpster, small vehicle | 5–20 min |
| Medium | Room-and-contents, car fully involved | 15–45 min |
| Large | Whole house, commercial unit | 45–120 min |
| Major | Multi-alarm, industrial, large woodland fire | 2–12+ hours |
In town, crews draw water from hydrants. Dyea Road has none: at a structure fire there on April 5, 2026, Tender 31 and Engine 23 brought water and about 2,500 gallons were used, so expect the upper end of each range outside town. On February 26, 2023, the Packer Building downtown, which housed the state court, was nearly half engulfed when crews arrived and was a total loss. On July 27, 2026, a fire in the wall of Skagway Hardware at 4th and Broadway was controlled within 30 minutes of SFD's arrival without spreading to the neighbouring brewery.
Apparatus & Equipment
- Engines at the February 2023 Packer Building fire
- 3
- Aerial apparatus, a used 2009 KME (arrived March 2026)
- 1
- Water tender (Tender 31)
- 1
A full fleet list and the number of ambulances are not published. The aerial, the department's first, was bought from the City of Salem after Assembly approval in December 2025.
- Structural fire
- Aerial
- Ambulance (EMS)
- Tanker water supply
Services & Community Programs
- Ambulance subscription: $10 per person or $25 per household for the calendar year waives the base rate for Skagway EMS ground ambulance service; transport, supplies and medevac escort are still charged. You must subscribe before you need the ambulance.
- CPR training and membership applications for new volunteers: see sgyfire.org or call (907) 983-2450.
- Burn permits: small-scale and large-scale permits are issued online by SFD (see below).
Ratings & Accreditation
The ISO Public Protection Classification rating for Skagway is not published.
Outdoor burning: In Skagway, burn permits come from the Skagway Fire Department under municipal code, not from the state. A small-scale permit covers burn barrels up to 55 gallons and one debris pile up to 10 feet across and 4 feet high; larger piles need a large-scale permit and an SFD site inspection. Notify municipal dispatch, (907) 983-2232, before lighting. Campfires up to 3 feet across, municipal fire rings and grills need no permit. A red flag warning means a total burn ban, campfires included. Questions: (907) 983-2450.
Neighboring Boroughs
- Haines Borough, AK (south and west)
- Stikine Region, British Columbia, Canada (north and east)
FAQ
What is the non-emergency number for fire in the Municipality of Skagway?
Skagway Fire Department: (907) 983-2450. Municipal dispatch (non-emergency): (907) 983-2232. For any fire or medical emergency, always call 911.
Which fire departments serve the Municipality of Skagway?
One: the Skagway Fire Department, which combines paid firefighters and volunteers and responds from its station at 308 17th Ave to the town, Dyea Road and the South Klondike Highway. Areas off the road system have no structural fire protection.
Who provides the ambulance in Skagway?
The Skagway Fire Department runs Skagway EMS ground ambulance service. A yearly subscription ($10 per person or $25 per household) waives the base rate. Serious patients are flown to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, about 45 minutes away.
How fast does the fire department respond in the Municipality of Skagway?
About 7–10 minutes for the first unit in the town of Skagway. There is no estimate for Dyea Road or the South Klondike Highway, and remote areas have no structural fire protection.
Do I need a burn permit in Skagway?
Yes, for burn barrels and debris piles: get a small-scale or large-scale permit from the Skagway Fire Department and notify municipal dispatch at (907) 983-2232 before burning. Campfires up to 3 feet across, municipal fire rings and grills need no permit. Red flag warnings mean a total burn ban.
Last verified:
- Skagway Fire Department (station address, phone, volunteer department)
- Skagway Fire Department — Burn Permits (permit sizes, dispatch notice, burn bans)
- Skagway Fire Department — Ambulance Subscriptions
- Skagway Fire Department — History (1898 founding, 1900 ordinance)
- Municipality of Skagway — Fire contact information (phone, fax, address)
- Alaska Division of Fire and Life Safety — Fire Department Directory (September 2026) (Skagway VFD, FDID 12200, PO Box 421)
- Municipality of Skagway — borough manager memo on the fire department aerial purchase (April 29, 2026)
- US Census Bureau — 2020 Gazetteer files (borough land area 433.933 sq mi; Skagway CDP 9.445 sq mi)
- Skagway News — SFD responds to building fire within historic buildings (2026)
- Alaska Public Media — Building housing Skagway court destroyed in fire (2023)
- GovServ — Skagway Fire Department news posts (Dyea Road fire 2026, aerial arrival)
- Wikipedia — Skagway, Alaska (2020 population, neighbors, clinic and hospital access)
- Wikipedia — Klondike Highway (14.4 miles to the border crossing)