New Marlborough Volunteer Fire Department

July 13, 2020

To: The Lake Buel Association

The New Marlborough Volunteer Fire Department is reporting that the conditions of privately owned dirt roads around Lake Buel present obstacles to providing emergency response. The New Marlborough Volunteer Fire Department will continue to respond to every emergency reported to the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center, however addressing the following obstacles would improve our ability to provide effective response.

The very many low hanging tree branches present an obstacle to quickly reaching the scene of your emergency. We suggest that a professional tree company be hired as this appears to be beyond the scope of what each homeowner can reasonably address.  While we recognize this would involve an expense, it would provide additional protection for your properties and possibly save lives.  There are two professional tree companies located in New Marlborough and many others in our area.

Another obstacle the Fire Department requests you consider is that the conditions of these roads present obstacles for fire trucks to navigate. We certainly are not suggesting anything that would alter the rural character of your roads, and can offer to meet with your representatives for a walking tour to discuss what could reasonably and unobtrusively be done.

Another issue is that not all homes currently have a 911 sign which allows us to immediately confirm the address of their emergency. This is easy to implement, by having each homeowner order an approved sign from the Town’s 911 Coordinator Dave Herrick, by calling 413 229-8795 or 413 229-2663, the cost is a modest $20.00. Please be aware that Town bylaw Requires that every home have this sign or a suitable equivalent.

Our last request is that all homes which have an alarm system which automatically calls 9“ issue a KnoxBox to allow access when no one is home, note that this is also required by Town bylaw. These are ordered through knoshomebox.com.

Certainly feel free to contact me with questions on any of the above, my cell phone is 413 644-5324 or by email at rdvorchik@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,

Bob Dvorchik, Assistant Chief

New Marlborough Volunteer Fire Department