The 7th annual Alert Hose Company Golf Ball Drop is back….get your tickets from any member or see us at any of our events this summer. The purpose of this fundraiser is raise enough funds to put on a memorable celebration of the company's 150th anniversary which is quickly approaching in 2026. Your continued support of our company is truly appreciated.

The Alerts along with Cheshire and Savoy Fire Departments ​are proud to present the movie “Odd Hours No Pay Cool Hat”. The movie details what it’s like to be a volunteer fire fighter/EMT in these challenging times. The movie is produced by the National Volunteer Fire Council and we are proud to present it at the Adams Theatre on Tuesday July 18th from 6 to 8:30pm. Tickets are free for admission. There will be equipment and members from all 3 departments there so bring the entire family to this very special presentation. We so very much look forward to seeing you there so you can get an inside look at what it’s like to be a volunteer.

​Photos and coverage by Gillian Jones - THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE

Courtesy of iBerkshires
By: Jack Guerino
05:15AM / Monday, June 12, 2023

ADAMS, Mass. — Specialty Minerals donated a truck full of needed rescue tools to the Adams Volunteer Fire Department.
 
Doug Mayger, senior vice president of Minerals Technologies and Kyle Ledbetter, environment health and safety manager pulled into the fire station bearing gifts on Tuesday, June 6. 
 
Gifts they hope to make the firefighters' job a little easier.
 
"We wanted to help out. The Adams Fire Department has helped us out in the past and we wanted to reciprocate that generosity," Ledbetter said. "The chief was able to recommend some tools they needed and we were able to purchase them."
 
The cache included saws, batteries, drills, and other tools used for extraction and cutting through barriers. Fire Chief John Pansecchi said the department's current fleet of hand tools is aging. This became really apparent at a recent call to the Specialty Minerals Plant.
 
"We had a fire down there in one of their silos, and we had to take it apart and do some work on it," he said. "We realized we didn't have some of the tools we needed. So we made up a wishlist And unfortunately, do the things going on, weren't able to really even nibble at it. These guys made an offer so we took them up on it."
 
He added that it is incredibly important for firefighters to have reliable hand tools in an emergency situation where they may have to extract someone from a dangerous situation.
 
Pansecchi added that it also allows the department to stretch its budget a little further to purchase other needed equipment.
 
Mayger said many Specialty Minerals employees are Adams residents and they also appreciate the protection the department provides their one facility.
 
"It is an important thing to do especially for the first responders who are always ready if we need them 24/7," he said. "They work nonstop."
 
Pansecchi said he works closely with the plant so if there is ever an emergency, the department is ready.
"We hope we never have to respond, but we are always ready," he said. "It is a big facility that we are always learning about."
 
A few of the dozen or so volunteers present stepped up into the pickup truck and unloaded the boxes of tools. They proudly stacked the pristine yellow boxes on the front of the engine for a photo op. 

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff

​ADAMS, Mass. — Five fire companies responded to a structure fire on Richmond Street on Thursday morning that gutted the apartment building. 
 
The second floor of the century-old building at 16-18 Richmond was fully involved when firefighters arrived shortly after 9:30 a.m. 
 
Everyone was reported out of the building and no one was injured. It wasn't immediately clear how many people were affected. 
 
It was the smoke from the fire that could be seen across town and from as far as Curran Highway in North Adams that alerted first-responders. 
 
"I was actually driving downtown when I looked over and saw heavy smoke," said Fire Chief John Pansecchi. "I pulled up and the house was  already fully involved, every window had smoke. We've basically been on the attack since we got here."
 
Richmond is one of several steep and narrow streets on the east side of Summer Street. Firefighters from Adams, North Adams, Cheshire, Dalton and Savoy responded to the scene. With some difficulty, Adams and North Adams bracketed the building with ladder trucks on Richmond and even narrower Clifford Lane to get to hotspots within the building. 
 
A vacant two-story residence at 10 Richmond next to the fire was used to run a line to get to the fire from the side. Power was cut off to the neighborhood, "leaving a lot of turkeys in the oven," said one neighbor, who was preparing to put his own pies in the oven when the power went out.
 
National Grid was at the scene to aid in moving wires and Adams Police  blocked off Summer from Hoosac Street to Winter Street. 
 
The nearly 7,000 square-foot structure is listed as a three-apartment building and owned by Richard and Sandra Kleiner, according to town documents. Pansecchi said the building was fully occupied. A smaller unit at basement level was being used as a short-term rental and the occupant, from Canada, was worried about getting her identification documents out. 
 
By about 11:30 a.m., the fire was contained but hotspots were still sending smoke into the air. The entire attic was gone and the second story and front facade were a charred mess. 
 
"We've got the bulk of the fire knocked down and we're trying to hit some hotspots now," said the chief.
 
Pansecchi said cause wasn't known but an investigator from state fire marshal's office was already on the scene and the chief said he appreciated the fast response, especially on a holiday. The investigator was speaking to tenants and the owners.
 
"This is a great effort by everybody here," Pansecchi said. "These guys all did a great job. They worked their tails off to get this under control."

​Additional photos here.