By Tammy Daniels
Courtesy of iBerkshires
07:37AM / Thursday, February 26, 2026

The cause of the blaze was undetermined and the state fire marshal was on their way. 
ADAMS, Mass. — An early morning fire on Richmond Lane gutted a single-family home Thursday. 

Update: The cause of the fire was ruled by the fire marshal, as the improper disposal of smoking material Fire Chief John Pansecchi said.  One firefighter was treated for difficulty breathing at the scene. Of the three cats, one was found deceased, another is confirmed to have escaped, and the fate of the third remains unknown.

The structure fire was called in about 4:30 a.m.; three hours later, firefighters were still chasing a smoky stubborn blaze between the first and second floors, Pansecchi said.
 
"It was heavy fire on the first floor, spreading to the interior," said Pansecchi. "It was unknown if anybody was in the house. Started a quick knock down, and got most of fire knocked down pretty quick."
 
The initial call was that someone was still in the home, but the chief said everyone had gotten out and was accounted for. 
 
The interior of the nearly 100-year-old Cape Cod was burned and blackened. Firefighters were able to enter the building and but smoke continued to pour of from under the eaves of the snow-covered roof as well as occasional licks of flame. The second story is listed as a three-quarter, with two dormers in the rear. 
 
"Right now, there's a lot of fire up in the void areas between the second floor, in the attic area about the second floor," Pansecchi said. "We're trying to get it, but it's stubborn. ...
 
"You got to open up all the ceilings and pull it all down. There's a couple hot spots on the outside that keep flaring up there."
 
He couldn't speak to the cause at this point but said the state fire marshal has been called to investigate. 
 
Cheshire and North Adams were called for mutual aid and Savoy is covering the fire station. County coordinator Gerry Cahalan, fire chief in Richmond, was at the scene along with Northern Berkshire EMS,  the town's Water Department, Berkshire Gas and National Grid.
 
Firefighters were expected to be at the scene for some time. 
 
"We're working on it," said Pansecchi. "The crews are working the tails off. They've done a great job."

​​More photos of this fire can be found here.

     We have recently been hitting the social media feeds with requests for our residents to remember to clear the snow from around the hydrants in their neighborhood. We then had a work bee and spent a Saturday morning trying to visit as many hydrants as possible and to clear them if needed. With all that time spend dealing with hydrants we though we would take this opportunity to pass along some other tips and a bit of knowledge concerning these ubiquitous parts of the town's landscape that tend to blend into the background until they are urgently needed.
     When we post that hydrants should have the snow removed from an area of 3' around the entire hydrant. This is because part of an emergency response may involve what's called "wrapping" the hydrant. This is where a fire engine will stop at a hydrant, pull off some supply hose, wrap it 360 degrees or more around it and then move down the street to lay the hose out to the scene. To be able to do this, the firefighter needs clear access to the base of the hydrant all the way around it...hence why we ask people to remove the snow not just from the front, but from all around it.
     The next ask is for all seasons, snow or not. Please do not park in front of a hydrant. Not only is that a ticket-able offense, it again makes it near impossible for firefighters to access the hydrant in the event of an emergency.
     And finally. Perhaps you did notice that the district had begun painting hydrants different colors. This is not an aesthetic decision but rather one made to follow the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommendation for color coding fire hydrant tops by water flow (GPM - gallons per minute) for easy and universal recognition by firefighters. We added a helpful chart to make it easier to understand why the one in front of your house is that color and why they can't be arbitrarily painted to match a person's desire or taste in color.
     Thank you for helping us be able to effectively help you or your neighbor should an emergency occur.

Courtesy of The Berkshire Eagle
By Jane Kaufman
ADAMS — Snow and rain may have kept some families away, but diehards put on their hats and coats and headed for the Town Common for free hay rides, chats with Santa, Christmas carols, cider doughnuts and hot chocolate with marshmallows on Sunday.

The Adams Holly Days Christmas tree lighting almost didn’t happen this year after its primary sponsor, the Adams Community Bank, decided to support a separate Holly Days event instead, that will take place on Dec. 6. But Select Board member Jay Meczywor put out a call to volunteers who made the lighting happen. Here’s how Debbie Nowicki put it.

“I found that the bank wasn’t doing it,” she said. “I said this is not right. We have to step up and we have to do this. There’s a bunch of volunteers in town that do a lot. It all got pulled together in two nights.”

Meczywor himself was standing on a curb, unfolding a step ladder and helping people in and out of hay rides offered by Alibozek’s Farm, which had two tractors hauling open trailers loaded with square bales large enough to sit on. There was a line for at least the first hour for the rides.

Girl Scouts trundled off the hay ride in time to sing in the gazebo such popular seasonal chestnuts as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” Some swayed as they sang, perhaps at least partly to stay warm in the damp chill.

The Adams forest wardens directed traffic in front of the common, and a DJ played popular Christmas songs.

At 2:30 p.m., all eyes were on Park Street as a brigade of fire engines, sirens blaring, peeled around the corner. There, riding on the back of the last engine was the man of the hour: Santa Claus. “It’s like Macy’s Thanksgiving parade on a smaller scale,” said Nicola MacEwen. “We’ve never had all of the fire trucks come through before.”

Her daughter, Willow, is now 10. “She’s a little bit older now. And as the Girl Scouts get older, it’s harder for them to come to things like this,” MacEwen said. “But she really enjoys doing the caroling and the hot chocolate is a big seller.”

Daisy, a 2-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, greeted the man from the North Pole. Mrs. Claus climbed out of the cab of the truck to join her husband for the walk across the common to the gazebo, where the two received a line of children. Santa chatted with the children, or perhaps more to the point, the children chatted with him. Paisley Titman, 9, of Adams, was one of them. She said she enjoyed that moment and was looking forward to the hay ride.

“I love Christmas,” she said.

What’s her favorite part? “Getting presents and being with your family,” she said.

Olivia Fairchild, 17, and a junior at Hoosac Valley High School, was handing out cider doughnuts from Jaeschke’s Orchard. She was there as part of the Hoosac Valley Leos, which she joined this year.

“This is my first time doing the Adams Christmas tree lighting,” she said. “I try to do a little bit of everything in the community that I can. I’m kind of just happy to be here. I love to see the little kids jumping up wanting doughnuts and love seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus. I just think it’s the cutest thing in the world because I would love this when I was a little kid.”

The fire department now has a new tool for training. The prop, a modified version of a set of firefighter props originally designed by Dale Pekel, a retired captain from Wisconsin.  It was built over a  a couple of weeks in July 2025 by members interested in upping our training possibilities. As shown below, this prop can be disassembled and reassembled to create a prop for: Firefighter rope or ladder bailout, Window VEIS, Denver Drill, Roof Operations, Wall-breach and Entanglement. Key modifications include: adding 2' to the height of the window wall and base, base extended to a full 8',  modified Denver walls that are also part of the roof assembly and using the base and floor as the supports for the roof prop. These modifications eliminated the need to further construct another base, a roof support and 2 separate roof panels thus saving money in the budget. While the bulk of the major construction is done, additional work is needed to make it ready for all of the skills mentioned. More information and pictures will be posted on our training page.