Adams Fire District Approves Two Bylaw Changes in Special Meeting

ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Fire District approved both of the proposed bylaw changes on the warrant at its special meeting on Wednesday. 

Article 1 moves the collection of fire protection and street lighting fees to Town Hall as a separate line item on town tax bills. The proposed changes resulted from a class-action lawsuit last year against the district. A Superior Court judge found that the district did not have the authority to charge for anything other than water, according to an 1873 act by the Legislature. 

Article 2 adds language to Article XIII of the district's bylaws that gives the Prudential Committee authority to declare a state of water shortage. The committee can charge penalties for violations during a shortage that varies based on severity, ranging from a verbal warning to a $300 fine. 

Voters disapproved these and other bylaw amendments at the annual meeting on May 24. The district, according to Treasurer Kathleen Fletcher at a June 6 meeting, decided to exclude the remaining bylaw changes from this meeting's warrant. 

Adams Firehouse Shored Up While District Seeks Options

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:51AM / Monday, April 13, 2026

Officials say the 60-year-old fire station is obsolete in terms of space and conditions to house the Fire and Water Departments. 

ADAMS, Mass. — Like many public safety organizations in the Berkshires, the Adams Fire District is looking for ways to address its building's deteriorating condition. 

 

The 65-year-old firehouse on Columbia Street houses both the fire station and Water Department and has myriad issues including leaking and rotting windows, improper ventilation, outdated and obsolete electrical panels, minimal storage, two undersized bays, no sprinkler system or carbon monoxide detectors, and no space for training. 

 

Last year, the Fire Department worried its new engine would fall through the floor of the firehouse so the district invested in renting a shoring system to hold the structure up. 

 

Prior to installing the system, the 2026 ladder truck could not be housed inside the station; with the temporary fix in place, it can now be stored indoors and is fully in service. 

 

Voters can expect warrant articles addressing the situation, including $8,000 for a space needs assessment and $44,000 from free cash to purchase the station's shoring support system.

 

Renting the system costs about $2,000 per month, and with long-term solutions — such as repairing the deteriorating building or relocating departments — expected to take several years, officials believe purchasing it may be the more feasible option.

 

Although the system holds up the structure, it also exacerbates another issue — space.