CHICOPEE (WWLP) – With the red flag fire warning throughout Massachusetts, and an influx of brush fires popping up, The Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry is assisting with pinpointing fires throughout the network of 42 fire towers in the state.

Early detection of fires is a key part of the Bureau’s efforts to protect and provide timely assistance and word to ground crews. Towers communicate via radio to pinpoint smoke and determine where it is coming from. Fire towers in Agawam, Brimfield, Chester, Goshen, Ludlow, Pelham, Shelburne, Sunderland, and Warwick help cover Western Mass. and notify area departments.

The Bureau serves 3.2 million acres of privately and publicly owned forest land in Massachusetts. To help care for the forests and owners throughout the state, numerous programs are in place through The Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry;

• Forest Fire Control Program – Provides aid, assistance and advice throughout the Commonwealth.
• Urban and Community Forestry Program – Offers technical assistance and grants to communities to build long-term support for the protection and management of public trees and forests.
• Forest Health Program – Monitors and assesses factors that influence the health of Massachusetts’s forests.
• Private Lands/Service Forestry Program – Provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners and municipalities in forest resource planning, forest management, and forest protection.
• State Public Lands/Management Forestry Program – Responsible for the planning and implementation of forest management activities within the forest and parks system. 
• Forest Legacy Program – Partnership between participating States and the USDA Forest Service to identify and help protect environmentally important forests from conversion to non-forest uses.
• Markets and Utilization Program – Assists landowners, foresters, timber harvesters, sawmills and manufactures in the promotion and expansion of the forest products industry in the Commonwealth.

According to Mass.gov, Bureau units are used at all fires that occur on state owned forest land and are available to municipal fire departments for mutual assistance purposes. Bureau fire-fighters are trained in the use of forestry tools, water pumps, brush breakers, and other motorized equipment; as well as fire behavior and fire safety.

For more information regarding The Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry, visit here. You can also see a list of Personnel and Support Staff in your area below.