Open burning season ends on May 1st, 2009 (04/22/2009)
The following letter was received by the Goshen Fire Department from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protectin (MassDEP). It is being reproduced here in order to provide information on alternative strategies for managing ice storm debris and to explain the reasons why the open burning season ends on Friday, May 1st.

Firefighters attend Mass Fire Academy Impact Drills (03/17/2009)
Firefighters from Chesterfield, Goshen and Williamsburg recently attended a series of three Mass Fire Academy Impact Drills. The drills, which were hosted by each of the towns, were held over a period of three weeks in March.

Farmedic Training (03/14/2009)
Do you know the hazards you might face when dealing with an incident on a farm? Farms, as part of our rural landscapes, can appear to be a working experience that is non-threatening and peaceful.

Original GFD Patch - pre 1985

Goshen Fire Department members during initial training with 56-E2.
Current Goshen Fire Department Patch - post 1985

Coping with ice storm damage (03/12/2009)
The Goshen Open Space Committee is sponsoring a seminar for Hilltown residents to learn from the experts about their options for dealing with the damage to our trees and forests from the December ice storm.

Swift River Road fire closes down Route 9 (02/25/2009)
A fire that began in the garage of a home at 1 Swift River Road on Monday forced local fire officials to close down Route 9 and diverted traffic for miles.

Bacon's fire quickly contained (02/21/2009)

When the pager for Williamsburg Fire Chief Donald Lawton went off Saturday morning, a dispatcher’s voice from Northampton Control announced “Attention all Williamsburg units, box alarm. Attention all Williamsburg units, box alarm. Respond to Bacon’s Equipment, 29 Goshen Road in Williamsburg for a reported structure fire.” Chief Lawton, who lives just a few houses up the road from Bacon’s looked out the window of his house and could see flames.

PRESS
RELEASE
Goshen Fire receives equipment grant from FEMA (01/20/2009)
The grant will be used to purchase equipment for the Department’s new engine, 56-E2, which replaced a 1960 engine.

Santa's got a new sleigh; Department takes delivery of a new fire truck just in the 'Nick' of time (11/28/2008)
The Goshen Fire Department (GFD) took delivery of a 2008 Darley engine on Thursday, November 21^st. Designated Engine 2, it will replace two vehicles - a 1960 American LaFrance engine and a 1980 GMC tanker.

Thanksgiving day fire leaves 4 homeless; House saved through the quick action of firefighters (11/27/2008)
Local firefighters were called to the scene of a 'box' alarm at 141 Ireland Street in Chesterfield.

Press Release Town's first new fire truck since 1985 arrives in station (11/20/2008)
The new engine had been in the planning stages for almost four years. The six-person Truck Committee designed this vehicle around firefighter safety and the latest in firefighting technology.

Rollover leaves driver missing and fire crews searching (11/07/2008)
The initial call for a motor vehicle accident at the Whale Inn corner came in at 3:38am. Responding firefighters were met with 54-degree temperatures and a light to moderate drizzle.

Slick road causes car crash (10/28/2008)
Combine temperatures hovering around freezing with a light rain and what do you get? Slick roadways.

Fire consumes van; Specialized equpment saved (09/24/2008)
After celebrating a successful 2008 Kayak-a-thon, Karen Foster and Sue Tracy of All Out Adventures were returning a trailer full of watercraft back to the Daughter’s of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) State Park in Goshen. That's when it happened.

Car rolls over trying to avoid porcupine (07/01/2008)
Williamsburg firefighters and Highland Ambulance personnel from Goshen responded to a rollover accident on Route 9 just east of the Goshen town line. First arriving units confirmed the rollover and reported that the occupant, 49 year old Lisa Bailey, was out of the vehicle.

Fire Safety Field Day marks 10th anniversary (06/03/2008)
In what has become a tradition at New Hingham Regional Elementary School, members of the Goshen and Chesterfield Fire Departments worked together to reinforce fire safety and prevention skills taught to students earlier in the year.

Department honors Veterans at Memorial Day service (05/26/2008)
Some came by foot. Some came by car. Some came on scooters and bicycles while others were pushed in their wheel chairs.

Firefighters assist in search for Worthington man (05/03/2008)
Friday night just before 9PM, a call for help was sent out by the Worthington Fire Department asking for resources to assist in the search for a missing person. The request from area fire departments was simple - they needed people and ATV’s.

Careless disposal of a cigarette butt blamed for Shepherds Hollow fire in Northampton (04/24/2008)
Shortly after midnight Thursday morning, firefighters from 12 communities - including Goshen - worked together to extinguish a fire at a Shepherds Hollow home in Northampton.

Mutual aid called in to battle Wright Street fire in Northampton (04/22/2008)

The Goshen Fire Department was toned out to provide mutual aid station coverage at Northampton's Florence station while Northampton personnel battled a working structure fire on Wright Avenue. In recent years, this type of response has become fairly standard for our region. However, this time was different.

Gamblers can still get in on Goshen ice-out (03/24/2008)
Daylight might linger a bit longer these days, but the snow is deep and the ice is still thick on Hammond Pond in Goshen.

Firehouse recieves breath of fresh air (03/22/2008)
The EPA, NIOSH, OSHA, NFPA and the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety (DOS) all recognize diesel exhaust as containing potential human carcinogens. The Goshen Fire Department (GFD) recognized this hazard and began a diesel exhaust removal system project in 2005.
With the help from workers at Air Cleaning Specialists from Hanover MA, they have now completed the installation of rails, piping and airtight sealing nozzles for 4 more vehicles.

Old pond comes to the rescue (03/12/2008)
Firefighters extinguished a blazing structure fire Tuesday at 66 Nash Hill Road by using a very old engine and an even older fire pond adjacent to the property.

Goshen Highlander's make donation to department (02/26/2008)
David Mollison of the Goshen Highlander's Snowmobile Club reported that the group raised approximately $1,500 during the annual memorial snowmobile ride for Brian Turner, Dean Richardson, Norman LaRoche and Tyler Hewes.

Breaking the ice - firefighters stage ice water rescue (02/21/2008)
A number of Hilltown fire departments gathered at Ashfield Lake over the weekend to participate in ice water rescue training. The gathering offered the opportunity for local departments to learn life saving skills, and for the Goshen Fire Department to try out their new Rapid Deployment Craft or RDC for the first time.

No dry run for rescue squads; Hilltown rescuers use icy Ashfield Lake to perfect techniques (02/19/2008)
Thirty-degree temperatures and icy rain didn't deter Jeffrey Kernan-Dufresne, 16, from looking forward to taking a plunge into Ashfield Lake. Kernan-Dufresne, dressed from head to toe in a bright red neoprene cold water suit, is a volunteer firefighter in Ashfield.

Rescuers hone their ice rescue skills (02/18/2008)
It's a great day for snowmobiling but after a long day on the trails you decide to take a shortcut across the lake to get home. Without warning, the ice beneath you gives way and both you and your snowmobile fall in. What do you do now?

Crane vs. Crown: Crown Wins (02/08/2008)
Police Chief Jeff Hewes talks with a worker from Harold's Towing while waiting for additional equipnment to arrive. The Harold's Towing truck that can be seen to the right of this picture has a 40-ton towing capacity. The crane weighed 139,000 pounds.

Fire Guts Goshen Home, Family Gets Out Safely (01/24/2008)
In freezing cold temperatures that hovered around eight degrees, Goshen firefighters, with the help of nine other departments, battled a blaze at 40 Shaw Rd. on Jan. 20. Chief Sue Labrie said that the fire was caused by a dryer in the basement that for one reason or another caught fire.

House can't be saved: Family said to be lucky to escape Goshen fire (01/22/2008)
The owners of a home heavily damaged by fire Sunday plan to knock it down, according to a construction worker at the site Monday afternoon.

Firefighter hurt, home destroyed in Goshen blaze (01/21/2008)
One firefighter was hurt after a Sunday afternoon blaze gutted a single-family home on 40 Shaw Road.

Sleepy Driver Sideswipes Barn Then Takes out Pole (01/18/2008)
Goshen Fire and Police Department members along with EMT's from Highland Ambulance responded to the scene of a motor vehicle accident at 12:30AM Friday.

Fire Chief touts 'binoculars on steroids' (01/11/2008)
Two federal grants - one to help pay for the completion of an exhaust-removal system and the other for some "binoculars on steroids" in Labrie's words - and a direct financial donation from a seasonal resident of Hammond Pond - have left the department better stocked with emergency and safety equipment.

Above and beyond - Country Journal Editorial (01/10/2008)
It’s after midnight and you’re snug and warm in bed as the temperature outside plummets through the single digits, shatters the zero barrier and keeps on falling. Then you get “toned,” meaning you’ll be spending the next several hours out in the weather, perhaps all night, fighting a fire under brutal conditions and often frustrating circumstances.

Fire department news (01/10/2008)
Fire Chief Sue Labrie gave her regular update to the Selectboard for the months of November and December this week. She has been so successful in getting grants that Selectman Larry Miller almost jokingly suggested she should write grants for the town.

After fire, man hopes to return to his home (01/09/2008)
His house is uninhabitable, but Chester S. Kenderski plans to repair damage from the Dec. 29 garage fire that left his 7 Hyde Hill Road home with blackened walls.

Woman injured in crash in center of Goshen (01/09/2008)
A Pittsfield woman was hurt after striking a trash truck on Main Street Tuesday morning, sending her car into the trees nearby.

A new approach is required to provide firefighting service - Gazette editorial reply (01/09/2008)
Congratulations to the Gazette for its Dec. 20 editorial regarding the difficulty of recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. I hope it provokes a long and fruitful discussion of a very serious problem.