Pittsfield Fire Knocks Down Christmas Day Blaze

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A first-responder caught an image of the fire before the Fire Department got to the scene.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Christmas Day fire on East Mill Street displaced a family of five. 
 
Deputy Chief Daniel Garner reported that the Fire Department was alerted to the blaze at 23 East Mill at 4:39 p.m. on Dec. 25. Firefighters found flames venting from windows on the first floor of the 2 1/2 story wood frame structure. 
 
One crew conducted a primary search to ensure the three-unit building was evacuated while others worked to extinguish the fire in the first-floor kitchen. The fire was knocked down and under control within 20 minutes but the room sustained fire damage and the first floor smoke damage. Garner put the damage estimate as less than $2,000. 
 
The cause of the fire was not yet determined and the family was being assisted by the Red Cross. There were no injuries reported. 

Tags: structure fire,   

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Business Briefs: Brodie Plans, Bank Settlement

Staff Reports

Alpine Village Proposed for Brodie Mountain 

NEW ASHFORD, Mass. — A group of investors who purchased Brodie Mountain three years ago is proposing a $200 million investment to revive the defunct ski area into a "premiere" New England destination.
 
As first reported in The Berkshire Eagle, one of the four partners, Todd Oifer, told the Planning Board on March 24 of Brodie Mountain Development's plans for the 500 acres.
 
Engineer Jeff Fitzgerald and landscape architect Wayne Violette, both from Bohler Engineering, presented renderings for a proposed Alpine village and wellness center. 
 
Fitzgerald, who had skied at Brodie, said the plans are purely conceptual at this point. They would include skiing, hospitality, wellness, vacation rentals and second homes, hotels, events, mountain biking, and a Nordic-style thermal spa.
 
"It will be a classic mountain resort appropriate for the Berkshires," he said. "And have a blend of all these activities ... for a year-round experience for visitors and locals."
 
The purpose of the presentation, he said, was to "take the temperature of the community" on the proposal. 
 
The 60-year-old ski resort closed in 2002 and the snowtubing portion in 2007.

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A harassment lawsuit against Pittsfield Cooperative Bank by a former bank executive was dismissed in federal court last month after the parties involved agreed to a settlement. 
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