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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Dalton Board Uncertain on How to Budget for Clean Air Efforts

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — As concerns about Berkshire Concrete's operations persist, Select Board members agree funding is needed, but are uncertain on how it should be allocated.
 
During its meeting on Monday, Select Board member Antonio "Tony" Pagliarulo requested that the town include in the budget funds for technical air-monitoring and potentially legal costs for the Clean Air Committee budget. 
 
In June, the board approved the establishment of a Clean Air Ad Hoc Committee, charged with reviewing the special permit and ensuring compliance. 
 
The committee consists of one Select Board member, a Board of Health representative, a Planning Board member, a Conservation Commissioner, and two citizen members: one from the Dalton Clean Air Coalition and another at-large citizen.
 
For over a year, residents attended numerous meetings urging action to stop sand from leaving parcel No. 105-16, owned by Berkshire Concrete, a subsidiary of Petricca Industries.
 
Since then, the Zoning Board ordered the company to fully remediate the unauthorized dig site on parcel No. 105-16, the Board of Health fined it $5,000, and the Planning Board denied its special permit
 
Board members seemed to agree that budgeting funds for clean air monitoring be set aside in the Clean Air Committee budget but not how legal fees should be budgeted. 
 
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