Smoke, no fire, sounds alarm at FMS

GUILDERLAND — An early morning fire alarm at Farnsworth Middle School did not close the school on Friday; only the locker rooms were closed.

At about 3:33 a.m. on Nov. 12, the fire alarm at Farnsworth detected smoke in the boys’ locker room and coaches’ offices, according to a notice emailed to parents from the district four hours later, at 7:33 a.m.

“The fire department cleared the area and detected no active fire,” the notice said. “A faulty motor on the HVAC unit was the cause. Repairs are underway.”

— Melissa Hale-Spencer

More Guilderland News

  • “We have a high level of [residents] below the poverty line in this district …,” said Meredith Brière. “We have a high number of renters and we have to remember, when giving exemptions, those tax implications end up on the entire population including renters because rents will go up.” Bringing the ceiling up to $50,000, she said, “just seemed really high” while at the same time $29,000 “is really a difficult number to live on.” She went on, “So we came to a compromise of $35,000.”

  • The proposal looks to improve stormwater drainage, which currently runs to Route 20. The town’s engineer, Jesse Fraine, said he was still in the midst of reviewing the proposal but told the board, “From what I’ve seen, everything is meeting or at least reasonably meeting" requirements from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

  • “The historical anomaly here is the health-insurance increase,” said AndrewVan Alstyne. “We’re projecting a $2.2 million increase in health insurance. That is unusually large.”

The Altamont Enterprise is focused on hyper-local, high-quality journalism. We produce free election guides, curate readers' opinion pieces, and engage with important local issues. Subscriptions open full access to our work and make it possible.