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.

After a year's worth of planning and work, 3 flagpoles have a new home at the firefighter memorial in Bellevue Cemetery. As part of an effort to prepare for the 150th anniversary of the company, the company secured permission from the Town of Adams to repurpose the 3 poles from the former Curtis Fine Paper mill which the town had acquired for back taxes. After removing a dying evergreen from the site, the company situated the refitted poles behind the monument and installed solar lighting. More information on this project is documented on part of the company's 150th anniversary pages.

​
Courtesy of iBerkshires
By Tammy Daniels
05:37AM / Wednesday, April 16, 2025
 
ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire Department is worried its new engine will fall through the floor of the firehouse. 
 
And that's only the beginning of the problems. 
 
The deteriorating conditions of the 65-year-old firehouse on Columbia Street was presented during an information session Tuesday night that included discussion of organizational changes in the upcoming election. More than 70 people attended the presentation.
 
"Our department's home no longer meets the need of an evolving fire service," said First Assistant Engineer David Lennon. "We have major, major structural issues with this building. We have additional safety issues and other liabilities that need to be addressed before we have other catastrophic problems."
 
Lennon went through a history of the department — from its founding with three hand-drawn carts in 1873, to the 1890 Park Street firehouse and to the larger (at the time) current fire station in 1960.
 
Now it no longer meets the needs of a modern fire service with its the plethora of regulations and standards, larger and heavier vehicles, the requirements for equipment and training and a call volume that's jumped by 370 percent.
 
The most pressing issue is the station's floor, which is actually the building's second floor. The Water Department is housed below and accessed off Depot Street. 
 
Lennon said the fire trucks are basically parking on a bridge — one that has had capacity issues almost since the beginning. One half the floor was replaced some 50 years but the other half is original. 
 
The foundation lacks proper footings and the supports are pushing through the floor. It's causing the walls to crack and it's not safe for the new engine, a 2025 E-One ?Typhoon eMax Engine, that while smaller in width and length is still heavier than the current engine. 
 
 A recent needs assessment recommended immediate repairs.
 
"This floor is insufficient to safely support the live impact load," said Lennon. "That's an important thing, because the live impact load is more than just wait time. It's moving weight, and that's worse, and that's what we have to do in here. Actually, it's needed immediately to avoid a catastrophic failure."
 
The Fire District will be issuing a request for proposals to shore up the floor for at least the next five years as it contemplates a new station. 
 
Because it's more than just the floor: there's leaking and rotting windows, no proper ventilation, outdated and obsolete electrical panels, minimal storage, two undersized bays (so the rescue truck has to be parked outside), no sprinkler system or CO detectors, and no space for training. 
 
Add to that no room for expansion, a lack of parking and the difficult and dangerous need to cross traffic lanes to back the trucks into the firehouse on a major road with obstructed views. 
 
The district could pour millions into the current station to bring it up to code, but it will still be limited by a lack of space, parking and safety.  
 
Tuesday's presentation was the first step in the process and district officials couldn't answer immediate questions like how much it would cost, where a new station would be located or what would be done with the old building. 
 
What it will require is the development of an advisory group appointed by the Prudential Committee to steer the process and conversations with the town and other partners. 
 
"Within the commonwealth, there have been many fire districts, many towns, many communities who have gone this path before, and you can see what worked, what didn't work, and try to borrow from what's out there," said Lennon. "We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but we need to go ahead and try to be as inclusive as we can bring more views and people to the table."
 
The needs assessment also recommended the creation of a full-time paid fire chief position, which the Fire District members will vote on at the annual meeting. The chief is currently a stipend post.
 
Fire Chief John Pansecchi said the responsibilities of the chief have increased significantly and the hours he's been putting in over the last five years have been almost full-time, in addition to his current full-time job. 
 
In addition to overseeing training, budgeting, purchasing, equipment and apparatus maintenance, code enforcement, background checks, fire prevention classes and education, and other administrative duties, the chief is also responsible for a range of inspections and permits including homes, liquor licenses, oil burners and propane systems, home solar panels (to ensure firefighters have access to roofs) and oversize roll-offs.
 
Pansecchi completed 418 inspections last year and issued nearly 200 permits. He noted that both cities had paid chiefs and a number of towns smaller than Adams.  
 
He also stressed this vote was not about him but whoever holds the position will have the same responsibilities.
 
"Yes it costs money ... everybody's worried about their taxes. ... any increase in taxes hurts us too," said Prudential Committee Chair Thomas Satko. "But we came to the conclusion we need a full time chief."
 
The Fire District will also vote on whether the clerk and treasurer and assistant engineers should be appointed rather than elected as ballot questions. 
 
Satko and Pansecchi said it was a matter of ensuring people in these positions are qualified and accountable. Satko said the state Department of Revenue recommended the treasurer be appointed "for efficiency and accountability and experience managing municipal finances."
 
The chief said elected positions can't be held to trainings or oversight. 
 
"Anyone in Adams can run for an engineer spot," said Pansecchi. "I can tell you what you need but can't make you do it."
 
The chief and engineers would be paid out of the Fire District budget; the clerk and treasurer would be split between the Fire District and Water Department. A compensation plan would have to be developed but Satko said the district would have a year to deal with that since the positions' elected terms won't end until next year. 
 
Satko could not speak to the salaries at this point but they would have benefits including insurance. The district leaders also broached the potential for hiring part-time firefighters to ensure bodies were available.
 
"They'll be district employees and won't have to live in the town of Adams," he said. "Some of the Alerts might not like that but we're looking for coverage to keep the people safe."
 
Pansecchi estimated he had about 20 firefighters who are consistent and capable but couldn't always respond to fires because of their schedules. He acknowledged the problems with recruitment but that wasn't the point of creating paid positions.
 
"Every fire department is having the same problem," the chief said. "This is not a step toward gaining members, it's a step toward putting qualified people in positions."
 
The annual election is May 13 from noon to 6 at the firehouse, followed at 7 by the annual meeting. The only other item on the election ballot is a Prudential Committee member for three years. The warrant for the annual meeting will be posted at a later date.