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. 

Courtesy iBerkshires
By Jack Guerino

​ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Volunteer Fire Department received its new custom ladder truck Friday.
 
"We have a great group of guys excited and ready to drive it," Fire Chief John Pansecchi said.
 
The new truck was purchased through the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. Assistant Chief David Lennon, who wrote the grant, said the truck in total was just over $1 million but the $809,524 grant covered the lion's share of the purchase.
 
Lennon said the truck was custom built by Ferrara Fire Apparatus of Holden, La., and has a travel height of 10 feet.
 
"This truck is definitely custom made ... normally trucks this size have a travel height of 10 feet, 9 inches," he said. "They went way lower on this one and it went through some major engineering. There isn't another truck like it."
 
He added that part of the cost came from modifying the garage so the new truck could fit. He said the ceiling was notched and the floor was reinforced to hold the extra weight. 
 
Lennon said the truck will replace the 1988 Pierce that is starting to show its age and is not compliant with current truck codes.
 
He said the truck is the fourth motorized ladder truck the department has owned and is the first platform ladder truck. It is the fourth platform ladder truck in Berkshire County.
 
Lennon said the grant was submitted in 2014 but it was worth the wait.
 
"It is a long process but to see something physically here is pretty amazing," Lennon said.
 
Pansecchi thanked former Chief Paul Goyette, who was instrumental in the grant process.

After a weeks of preparing,  the application to the Assistance to Firefighters Grant was filed November 25, 2014.. Now, almost 2 1/2 years later, the long awaited payoff is on its way to Adams. Tower 4 left the factory in Holden, Louisiana today at 2:30pm. When it arrives later this week, it will be test fit into a heavily modified bay altered to accomodate it. If all goes well, after a short trip to the dealer SVI for tool and radio mounting, the new truck will return home to stay and begin its service to Adams. We'll post more pictures when it arrives, but for now check out the delivery photos and all of the pictures of its construction HERE.

A new gallery of photos of our new aerial under construction has been created to show the unit as it progresses. It will contain all of the photos associated with the new truck and will be located on the Photos/Apparatus page for future viewing. Ferrara has also started posting incremental shots on its "In Production" page.

The Adams Fire Department moved a bit closer to acquiring a new aerial device to replace the 1987 Pierce.

The Prudential Committee moved forward with a recommendation to put forth a warrant and hold a special meeting to authorize the district to borrow up to $230,000 to be used for the acquisition of a new aerial device specified by the Fire Department and any modifications to the station to allow said apparatus to be safely housed in such.

The special meeting was held Tuesday, April 12 at 7:00pm at the fire department. The warrant passed. The department can now authorize the builder, Ferrara Fire Apparatus from Holden, Louisiana, to begin construction once the final specifications are approved. Specialty Vehicles, Inc. of North Attleboro, MA is the regional vendor and Bill Middlemiss was the local sales representative who worked with the department.

​It is estimated that construction will take 330 calendar days to complete with additional time for tool mounting, lettering and operator instruction.