Annual Report
Annual Report (2017) of the Lenox Fire Department
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens of Lenox:
It is with great pride in this Department that I submit my 2017 Annual Report. The mission of the Lenox Fire Department is to protect the lives and property of those within the town by providing public safety education, performing fire safety inspections and providing emergency response services.
Requests for service-
The Lenox Fire Department responded to 1644 requests for assistance during 2017.
222 fire alarms, 40 fires, 59 service calls, 120 rescues, 51 hazardous conditions, 1135 medical calls and 17 good intent calls (odor of smoke, steam believed to be smoke, etc.).
Stations and Equipment-
The Lenox Fire Department currently operates out of three fire stations that are strategically located throughout the town. This is done to reduce response times and allows us to better serve the citizens of the Town of Lenox. Our average response time (time of dispatch to time on scene of the incident) during 2017 was 4 minutes.
The Central Fire Station, built in 1910, is located at 14 Walker Street and serves as the department’s headquarters and administrative offices. Equipment housed in the Central Station is Engine 1, a 2011 Seagrave Marauder II Rescue Pumper and Truck 5, a 1996 Darley – Quint (75 foot aerial ladder truck & pumper).
The Lenox Dale Fire Station, built in 1936, is located at 26 Elm Street and houses Engine 6 a 2008 Seagrave Marauder II pumper. Engine 62 a 1985 Pierce Arrow, reserve pumper and ISU-1 a 2007 Incident Support Trailer
The New Lenox Fire Station, built in 1962, is located at 399 Pittsfield Road and houses Engine 3 a 1989 Pierce Arrow pumper, Truck 7 a 1999 Ford Brush Truck, Marine 1 a 19 foot, 5 horsepower rescue boat, Brush 1 a 2003 Honda, All Terrain Vehicle and Brush 2 a 2016 Polaris side by side UTV
Training-
Throughout the year the Fire Department conducted weekly training to stay proficient in all aspects of fire suppression, rescue techniques and property preservation as well as State mandated training in Hazardous Materials, First Aid, Fire Investigation and Incident Management. This training was conducted both in house and with the Massachusetts Fire Academy. The Lenox Fire Department now has four members assigned to the Western Mass Technical Rescue Team which trains and responds to incident requiring training in high angle rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue and building collapse.
Fire Department Personnel-
The Lenox Fire Department is currently made up of 6 Career Firefighter/EMT’s, 15 Part-time Relief Firefighter/EMT’s, 37 Volunteer Firefighters. Our paid staff works out of the Central Fire Station and provides for two on duty FF/EMT’s 24 hours a day seven days a week coverage.
Unfortunately during 2017, our Department suffered the loss of retired Firefighter’s Paul M. Kostyun of the Lenox Dale Fire Company who served as their Secretary/Treasurer for many years and Thomas J. O’Brien of the New Lenox Fire Company. Rest in peace and thank you for a job well done!
On a happier note Volunteer Firefighter Abigail Lemanski was hired as a career Firefighter with the City of Pittsfield becoming the cities first female Firefighter.
Prevention and Education-
This department was busy in many other facets of Public Safety including the training and credentialing of four of our personnel in the new Department of Fire Services – Fire Prevention Officer 1 program. Our personnel continued to attend and receive training in the administering the Massachusetts Fire Prevention Code.
During 2017our department conducted 515 Fire Prevention inspections on oil burners, LP gas storage tanks, tank removals, fire alarms, blasting and fireworks requests, as well as required building inspections and issued 1228 permits. As a way to become more user friendly the Fire Department now allows residents to obtain their burning permits on line using www.townoflenox.com or www.lenoxfire.com web sites and selecting the Burning Permit link. For those who do not have internet access burning permits may also be obtained by calling 637-2345.
The Fire Department would like to thank the Board of Selectmen and the citizens of the town for their continued support of our operations. As part of this support we are always looking for new members to fill our ranks. Please contact us if you are willing to volunteer and become a firefighter.
In closing, I want to sincerely thank all the officers and members of the Lenox Fire Department for their time and dedication. Also, without the support of the families of these brave men and women who respond at moment’s notice to assist others in need, the ranks of our volunteers would be greatly diminished.
Respectfully Submitted
Daniel W. Clifford, Chief