BCC Accepting Applications to Fire Science Program

10:58AM / Wednesday, July 08, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) is now accepting applications for entrance into its Fire Science program.

The associate degree program is shared with Greenfield Community College. All Massachusetts residents who have not yet earned a bachelor's degree can attend BCC for free.

The program focuses on fire prevention and fire protection principles and techniques. Students also take general education courses, including human behavior and written and oral communication. All coursework is aligned with Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) standards. The program covers material on the most recent developments in the field and provides excellent preparation for those who work in a variety of occupations in fire science.

"The Fire Science program at BCC is an excellent way to gain credentials for people who want to become firefighters, emergency managers, fire inspectors, insurance underwriters and more," said Daniel Garner, Fire Science program advisor. "With a demonstrated need in the Berkshires for these professions, graduates of the program tend to find jobs quickly and earn competitive salaries."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, firefighters in Massachusetts earn a median hourly wage of $34.78 and an annual mean salary of $72,330.

For more information, or to apply to the program, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/firescience.

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EPA, GE Conducting Vernal Pool Study on Housatonic River

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
11:44AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A pilot study will determine the best way to remediate PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, from vernal pools in the Housatonic River.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric held an open house for the Vernal Pool Pilot Study on Reach 5A, a five-mile stretch between the river's confluence and Lenox border. Despite the rain, several people attended the event at the Berkshire Athenaeum.

EPA project manager Josh Fontaine explained that it is an evaluation of which remediation method to use for the remaining vernal pools in Reach 5A.

"We're going to be testing two different methods. One is an excavation method, which we already know has been very successful with another vernal pool cleaned up much earlier in the project," he said.

"And then the other is the application of two different carbon amendments. It would be the application of powdered activated carbon and the application of granulated activated carbon."

Ten vernal pools will be cleaned using these methods: five with excavation and five with active carbon; seven additional vernal pools will be monitored as controls. Construction will be complete around October, but the pools will be left to their natural processes and monitored with surveys and sampling for three years.

Fontaine said there is no frontrunner for methodology.

"We know the excavation method is effective, but we would like to see if the less invasive method of using the amendment will be as effective for potential use," he said.

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