North Adams Fire Department Rescues Injured Hikers

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Emergency personnel rescued two hikers from Mount Greylock on New Year's Day after one of the pair was injured. 

 

“They went hiking and he just twisted his ankle,” Fire Director Stephen Meranti said on Monday. “We went up there on snowmobiles and gave them a ride back.”

 

The hikers called for help from a cell phone at about 4:30 p.m. and both Fire Department and ambulance employees used personal equipment to help the pair. Five firefighters and two emergency medical technicians from North Adams Ambulance took ATVs and snowmobiles up the mountain, Meranti said.

 

The hikers were near high-tension lines and used the tower number to identify their location but the Fire Department was still unsure of the best way to access them, Meranti said. Emergency personnel began a staging area on Curran Highway but after consulting with National Grid to pinpoint the tower, the group moved to Notch Road.

 

The hikers were off the mountain by 7 p.m. and the weather was warm enough that they were not in immediate danger. Only one department vehicle was used, an all-terrain vehicle and a rescue sled, and three additional ATVS and three snowmobiles were owned by emergency staff.

 

The hikers' names were not immediately available.