North Adams Fire department asks for help with hydrants

TheTranscript.com
Article Launched: 12/28/2007 10:27:48 AM EST


Friday, December 28
NORTH ADAMS — With more snow on the horizon, the North Adams Fire Department is asking residents to help them keep the city's fire hydrants clear by adopting one in their neighborhood.
Firefighters and city workers have been busy digging out hydrants over the course of the last two weeks.

"We've mostly cleared them all out," Fire Director Stephen Meranti said Thursday afternoon. "We had some hydrants that were really buried under the snow by private plowing companies."

He said the department marks each hydrant with a yellow reflective marker that should be visible above the snow drifts.

"We're asking people to take care of the hydrants around they're homes and businesses," Meranti said. "We're asking that people not put snow on or around the hydrants — that they push the snow away from them. If someone's out there snowblowing or shoveling, we'd appreciate if they could make a loop around the hydrant — about four feet wide."

He said the people reaping the benefits from clearing out the hydrant are those living near it.

"It's really to the benefit of the property owners," Meranti said. "This way, if there's a fire, the department



doesn't have to spend time locating and digging out the hydrant before tackling the fire."
He's also asking drivers to watch out for firefighters who are out clearing the snow from around the hydrants.

"The other day, we actually had people yelling at the firefighters for being in the road," Meranti said. "If one of our trucks is in the road, our guys are out in front of it clearing a hydrant, and we need people to slow down around the trucks. It's something that's going to be going on all winter."

— Jennifer Huberdeau

Grant funds emergency antenna

By Derek Gentile, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 12/26/2007 03:04:57 AM EST


Wednesday, December 26
SANDISFIELD — A $42,125 grant from the Department of Homeland Security will enable the town to improve its emergency communications systems next year.
Fire Chief Ralph Morrison said last week that a majority of the funding will pay for a radio antenna atop Sandisfield Fire Station Number Two, located on Route 57.

Some of the money will also go to install a self-contained generator in Fire Station Number One on 79 South Main St., which will be used as a community center in an emergency, said Morrison.

The antenna will enable firefighters living in more remote portions of the town to better receive emergency tones from the county dispatch center in Pittsfield.

There are times, said Morrison, that weather conditions and geography conspire to mute the dispatch signals. This antenna, he said, will hopefully reduce that problem. At 52 square miles, Sandisfield is the largest town by area in the Berkshires. It is also one of the most sparsely settled.

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. John Olver, D-Amherst, explained that the grant is part of the federal Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters program.

A total of $490 million


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has been awarded this year. But, the spokesman said, the grant is extremely competitive, as fire departments and emergency medical teams from cities, tons and villages all compete for the money.
Olver, in a prepared statement, pointed out that these grants "are critical to smaller communities with limited resources. Whenever I meet with town officials, the message is always the same: Municipal needs always outstrip individual towns' budgets."

Morrison said last week that he hopes to begin these projects by the beginning of 2008. But his plans are contingent on when the town is awarded the funding.

"Obviously, I have to get the money before I start," he said.

Morrison credited his brother, Police Chief Michael Morrison, Emergency Management Director John Burrows and Burrows' wife Kathy Burrows, for assisting in writing the grant.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE - FLOOD WATCH

CTZ001-013-MAZ001-025-NYZ038>040-043-047>054-059>061-064>066-084-
231130-
/O.EXA.KALY.FA.A.0010.071223T1700Z-071224T1100Z/
/00000.0.RS.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
NORTHERN LITCHFIELD-SOUTHERN LITCHFIELD-NORTHERN BERKSHIRE-
SOUTHERN BERKSHIRE-SOUTHERN HERKIMER-SOUTHERN FULTON-MONTGOMERY-
NORTHERN WASHINGTON-SCHOHARIE-WESTERN SCHENECTADY-
EASTERN SCHENECTADY-SOUTHERN SARATOGA-WESTERN ALBANY-
EASTERN ALBANY-WESTERN RENSSELAER-EASTERN RENSSELAER-
EASTERN GREENE-WESTERN COLUMBIA-EASTERN COLUMBIA-EASTERN ULSTER-
WESTERN DUTCHESS-EASTERN DUTCHESS-SOUTHERN WASHINGTON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...TORRINGTON...OAKVILLE...NEW MILFORD...
TERRYVILLE...PITTSFIELD...NORTH ADAMS...GREAT BARRINGTON...LEE...
LENOX...HOUSATONIC...ILION...HERKIMER...LITTLE FALLS...MOHAWK...
FRANKFORT...DOLGEVILLE...GLOVERSVILLE...JOHNSTOWN...AMSTERDAM...
WELLSVILLE...WHITEHALL...GRANVILLE...COBLESKILL...MIDDLEBURGH...
DELANSON...ESPERANCE...DUANESBURG...SCHENECTADY...ROTTERDAM...
BALLSTON SPA...MECHANICVILLE...WATERFORD...ALTAMONT...ALBANY...
TROY...HOOSICK FALLS...CATSKILL...COXSACKIE...ATHENS...CAIRO...
JEFFERSON HEIGHTS...HUDSON...CHATHAM...KINGSTON...NEW PALTZ...
POUGHKEEPSIE...BEACON...ARLINGTON...PAWLING...DOVER PLAINS...
MILLBROOK...PINE PLAINS...AMENIA...MILLERTON...HUDSON FALLS...
FORT EDWARD...CAMBRIDGE...GREENWICH
331 PM EST SAT DEC 22 2007
...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE
SUNDAY NIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBANY HAS EXPANDED THE

* FLOOD WATCH TO INCLUDE PORTIONS OF NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT...
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS AND EAST CENTRAL NEW YORK...INCLUDING
THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT...NORTHERN
LITCHFIELD AND SOUTHERN LITCHFIELD. IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS...
NORTHERN BERKSHIRE AND SOUTHERN BERKSHIRE. IN EAST CENTRAL NEW
YORK...EASTERN ALBANY...EASTERN COLUMBIA...EASTERN DUTCHESS...
EASTERN GREENE...EASTERN RENSSELAER...EASTERN SCHENECTADY...
EASTERN ULSTER...MONTGOMERY...NORTHERN WASHINGTON...
SCHOHARIE...SOUTHERN FULTON...SOUTHERN HERKIMER...SOUTHERN
SARATOGA...SOUTHERN WASHINGTON...WESTERN ALBANY...WESTERN
COLUMBIA...WESTERN DUTCHESS...WESTERN RENSSELAER AND WESTERN
SCHENECTADY.

* FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT

* A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL TRACK THROUGH THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES
REGION SUNDAY. IT WILL BRING VERY STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS AND
HEAVY RAIN TO THE CATSKILLS...ADIRONDACKS...SCHOHARIE
VALLEY...BERKSHIRES AND TACONICS...WITH TEMPERATURES RISING
INTO THE 40S. THIS WILL RESULT IN RAPID MELTING OF THE ONE TO
THREE INCHES OF WATER IN THE SNOW PACK ALONG WITH ONE TO ONE AND
A HALF INCHES OF RAIN SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE COMBINED
RAINFALL...RUNOFF AND SNOWMELT MAY RESULT IN STREAMS AND RIVERS
OVERFLOWING THEIR BANKS. FLOODING OF ROADS AND PARKING AREAS
WHERE PILES OF SNOW AND ICE PREVENT WATER FROM DRAINING AWAY IS
ALSO POSSIBLE.

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON
CURRENT FORECASTS.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE
FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE
PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING DEVELOP.

Lee fires burn homes Two blazes erupt within minutes of each other in the town

Firefighters battle a blaze at a six-unit apartment building on Laurel Street yesterday in Lee, the first of two fires to break out in the town last night.

Caroline Bonnivier / Berkshire Eagle Staff

By Benning W. De La Mater, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 12/16/2007 04:25:36 AM EST


Click photo to enlargeFirefighters battle a blaze at a six-unit apartment building on Laurel Street yesterday in...«1»Sunday, December 16
LEE — Two separate fires just 1.5 miles apart broke out within 13 minutes of each other in town last night, forcing more than 40 firefighters from five departments to battle the blazes in 18-degree temperatures.
No one was injured in either fire, but two animals were killed. Fire officials had yet to determine what caused the fires as of press time, but state fire marshals were called in to investigate.

The first blaze broke out at 6 p.m. in a six-unit apartment building on Laurel Street (Route 20), adjacent to the Massachusetts State Police barracks. The second fire was reported at 6:13 p.m. at 130 Tamarack Ave.

No one was home at the time of the Laurel Street fire. Janna Delgado had planned to meet her boyfriend, Michael Newson, at the apartment for dinner. When she arrived, flames were shooting toward the trees, lighting up the sky. Newson was shopping at Price Chopper when Delgado called to tell him the news.

Newson, who has lived there since September, said the owner, Bob Holcomb, had just renovated the building — a light-yellow older home that had been turned into apartments — and that Holcomb's son was the only other tenant. A "For



Rent" sign was pushed into a snow-covered front lawn.
Cars were backed up for at least a mile to the north as police rerouted traffic on Route 20 at Cranwell and at the bottom of Laurel Street.

The owners of the Tamarack Avenue home, David and Trisha Sires, were not home at the time, but fire officials said a dog and cat were killed in the blaze.

Lee Assistant Fire Chief Ed North said when crews arrived at the fire, the hydrants were frozen, forcing firefighters to use water from a tanker.

"When we arrived, the fire was fully involved and the flames were spreading," he said. "We had tankers, so water was not an issue."

North said it appeared that the fire originated in the garage of the small Cape-style home.

It took several hours to contain both fires. Firefighters from Lee, Tyringham, Stockbridge, Lenox and Lenox Dale battled the blazes, which gutted both buildings. Tenants of both buildings planned to stay with families or friends last night.

North said it was "unusual" that two fires broke out at the same time. He said both South Lee and Lenox fire departments were celebrating their annual Christmas parties when the fires broke out.

"At least the wives are having fun," he said.

Eagle correspondent Dick Lindsay contributed to this story.

To reach Benning W. De La Mater: bdelamater@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 496-6243

USFA Releases Two Topical Reports on Fire Department Runs

USFA Releases Two Topical Reports on Fire Department Runs
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has issued two special reports, part of its Topical Fire Report Series, examining fire department responses to all types of emergency situations. In addition to fighting fires, fire departments respond to emergency medical service (EMS) calls; technical rescues; explosions; hazardous threats and conditions; natural disasters, and false alarms. Fire departments are also called upon to respond to a wide variety of non-emergency situations.

"Throughout the history of our nation, fire departments have, and continue to provide the necessary response and services to the communities they protect," said U.S. Fire Administrator Greg Cade. "In today's community and emergency environment, fire protection is only one of the many functions of a fire department. As in the past, today's firefighters are trained to handle all types of incidents, including EMS and will continue to prepare themselves for all types of emergencies, threats and vulnerabilities in the future."

The two reports, the Fire Department Overall Run Profile and the Fire Department Fire Run Profile, were developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of USFA. To understand the full role fire departments play in a community, these reports explore fire department run activity as reflected in the 2004 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data.

The Fire Department Overall Run Profile looks at all types of fire department runs or calls including fire, whereas the focus of the Fire Department Fire Run Profile is strictly fire. Fifty-five percent of department responses require EMS and rescue services. False alarms account for 12 percent of all fire department runs, followed closely by good intent calls at 10 percent. About eight percent of all calls actually involve fire. Forty-two percent of all fire runs are to incidents involving structures, followed by outside fires at 35 percent.

The short topical reports are designed to explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in NFIRS. Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information

Fire Departments Over All Run Profile (PDF - 1.1 mb

Fire Departments Fire Run Profile (PDF - 870 kb)

A dagger to the heart of Shelburne Falls: Assessing the fire's damage

BY DIANE BRONACACCIO AND JEREMY DIRAC RECORDER STAFF
email this writer


Recorder/Paul Franz
The top section of 33 Bridge St. in Shelburne Falls was demolished after a fire Sunday night damaged the building beyond repair.
Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2007

SHELBURNE FALLS -- On an icy Monday morning, residents and bystanders huddled in doorways and beneath the Keystone Market awning, staring at what was left of 33 Bridge St. after Sunday night's fire.

On the first floor was the shell of four businesses: Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, Trans-itions hair salon, a T-shirt shop owned by Mike Johnson, and Kathleen Reagey's therapeutic massage business.

'It's right dead center in the heart of our community,' Shelburne selectmen's Chairman Joseph Judd said as he surveyed the damage. 'It's like it took a dagger right in the center of it.'

Had there been even a little bit more wind, the fire could have spread and destroyed even more of the Shelburne Falls downtown, Judd said. 'I really believe that in a lot of ways, (firefighters) saved this village.'

As of Monday evening, no cause for the fire had been determined. The state fire marshal's office said the blaze was still under investigation.

About a dozen fire departments answered the call after the blaze broke out about 6:15 p.m. Firefighters stayed throughout the night and into Monday. By late afternoon a crane began demolishing the building.

Many neighboring businesses along Bridge Street, the main commercial street on the Shelburne side of Shelburne Falls, were without power and closed Monday.

In short order, offers of help began to flow in.

Hope and Olive restaurant in Greenfield, whose owners lost a Shelburne Falls business to fire two years ago, is holding a benefit. Maggie Zaccara, a former A Bottle of Bread owner, said her new restaurant is holding an 'emergency' free soup and game night. The first Monday of every month, folks are invited to dine on soup, bread, and desserts, and to bring in games to play. While it's all free, those that come are invited to make donations to worthy causes.

The benefit is from 5 to 8 p.m. on Monday.

Arthur Schwenger, executive director of the Shelburne Falls Area Business Association, silently took a long look at the damaged building Monday morning.

'It's a major disaster for the downtown area,' Schwenger said. 'Something like this affects all the businesses in town.'

'I'm sure the (association) will want to do what they can to help out the businesses affected by this,' he said.

In response to calls from people wanting to help the fire victims, Shelburne Executive Secretary Terry Mosher said selectmen will let people know how they can help after they have a better idea of what is needed.

Had to come down

The blackened walls of the 33 Bridge St., built in 1895, were bowing after the fire and had to come down as soon as possible, said Shelburne Falls Fire Chief Rick Bardwell. Bricks had fallen off the top story, revealing the wooden 'balloon construction' beneath the facade. Balloon framing allows fire to race inside a wall from the first to upper floors without fire stops, which is one reason the fire spread so quickly, Bardwell said.

'The building has to come down. It's totally unsafe,' he said. 'The facade is in danger of falling.'

Firefighters had worked through the night to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent century-old commercial buildings in the heart of the village.

Ladder trucks from Shelburne Falls, Greenfield, Turners Falls and South Deerfield hosed down the rooftops of the other commercial buildings on the block in a successful attempt to prevent the fire from spreading, Bardwell said.

However, water from the fire hoses flowed into the cellars of those neighboring buildings.

'These old foundations were rubble-laid,' he explained. 'So you have water from the fire building flowing into these empty 'swimming pools' -- the cellars of the other buildings.'

He said some of the furnaces in adjacent buildings were under water.

According to Bardwell, the basements have to be pumped out, and electricity would most likely be restored later on today, following an electrical inspection.

Although hot coffee and breakfast fare may have been in short supply on the Shelburne side of the Iron Bridge, the selectmen's meeting room in the Shelburne Town Hall looked like a banquet had taken place. Tables were lined with steam trays that, on Sunday night, had included two types of pasta from the nearby Gypsy Apple restaurant.

'Gypsy Apple put on a feast' for firefighters, said Bardwell. 'We had pheasant,' he said, referring to the restaurant's pheasant cacciatore. 'We got (food) from the Rod & Gun Club, from the Red Cross. We had hot, baked cookies.

'People were fantastic.'

Mosher said town hall was overloaded with phone calls early Monday after Judd sent out a townwide voice mail, telling people about the fire and warning that part of Bridge Street was closed to traffic. She said people came in during the day with more food for the firefighters and others on the scene.