FEMA Awards Funds to Massachusetts for COVID School Testing Costs

08:00AM / Saturday, February 10, 2024Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $64 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse it for the cost of contracting to provide testing services in public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $64,144,440 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services for the cost of contracting to provide testing at schools and in public buildings in surrounding communities between February 2021 and June 2022.

The contractor provided services which included operations and logistics of pooled testing, training, software, and technical assistance to school personnel.

The contractor also provided transportation for a total of 907,829 COVID-19 test specimens from approximately 2,400 public schools across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the laboratory for analysis.

"FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Massachusetts with these costs," said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. "Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation's ongoing recovery."

FEMA's Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.

So far, FEMA has provided more than $2.7 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.

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First Responders Pull Truck From Pontoosuc Lake

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:50PM / Monday, November 02, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.—First responders performed a rescue at Pontoosuc Lake on Friday, Oct. 30, after a truck ended up in the water.

The driver, who was not identified, was taken to Berkshire Medical Center following the incident.

Deputy Chief Neil Myers said the Pittsfield Fire Department was dispatched for a water rescue incident at the boat ramp off Hancock Road at 9:30 a.m.

There was one occupant in the truck who had climbed onto the vehicle's roof when they arrived. The white vehicle had floated across the channel near the ramp and landed on the waterbody's base; one corner of the roof was peeking out of the water when iBerkshires arrived around 10 a.m.

Myers relayed that a witness saw the truck driving into the water; that was the initial report. On the way, first responders received another call reporting the truck had floated across the channel, and the caller was unsure if the person got out.

With this information, PFD dispatched a full assignment: three engines, a ladder truck, and a rescue. Pontoosuc Lake is drawn down right now, with a maximum depth of about 15 feet in that area.

Two firefighters were deployed in cold-water suits to make contact with the driver. They assessed him, provided a life jacket, and put some lines in for safety.

Worried about hypothermia, firefighters planned to keep the man on top of the truck until a boat arrived. Though, Myers said when the boat was launched off the ramp, the man swan dove into the lake and swam to land.

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