Fire tower location: Borden Mountain, Savoy Mountain State Forest,
Savoy, Berkshire County, MA
The Savoy fire tower is on a remote mountain, accessible by an unmarked
dirt road. It is serviced by a power line and has a few antennas. A few
hundred feet away is a large state police telecommunications site, also
on DCR land.
In 1980, Francis Messer, then DCR's district fire chief, wrote: "For the
past six (6) years Savoy Tower has not been manned for ground (tower)
detection of forest fires in the northeast area of Berkshire County. The
Bureau has deleted the use of Savoy and three other towers; Hancock [New
Ashford], Lenox and Mt. Washington."
In 1992, Mike Tirrell, now DCR's fire chief, wrote that DCR could use
this site "to house some of our radio needs as well as future requests
for high ground."
As of fiscal year 2000, this site had two public-agency leases: the
state police and Franklin County. $5,000 in revenue from a private lease
was projected for fiscal year 2001.
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