| Home | About | Archives | RSS Feed |
One Man Injured In Pittsfield Structure Fire
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — One many was taken to Berkshire Medical Center for burns following a structure fire on West Street Wednesday night.
Around 8:30 a passerby coming from Berkshire Community College noticed the flames and reported that there was somebody inside the house at the time. When firefighters arrived, they found a fully involved structure fire but, luckily, the man inside the building had already gotten out.
"When we got dispatched it was reported as a house fully involved with people inside, which gets your heat rate up right away because you feel like you are going to have to do a very difficult rescue. On arrival, it was relieving to find the only occupant already outside the house and he said nobody else was in the house. So now it is property we are worried about and not lives we have to save," Deputy Chief Andrew Stephenson said.
The man was reportedly the only person in the home at the time and was taken to the hospital with what appeared to be second-degree burns on his hands and first-degree burns on his feet.
"He actually denied any injuries but he had visible burns. Any burns on your hands or feet are considered serious burns," Stephenson said.
Neither the injured man nor Stephenson knows exactly how it started, but an investigation is ongoing to figure that out.
"The house structurally is completely sound. But it has very heavy smoke damage and fire damage throughout. The contents are fairly well destroyed on the first floor," Stephenson said.
He added, "there is a lot of heat damage on the inside. There is a lot of fire damage in the first room, inside the window from the porch. From there, there is a lot of heat damage going up the stairs and to adjoining rooms."
Firefighters had made fairly quick work in knocking down a lot of fire centered mostly on the porch and in the room just inside.
"When I arrived the fire was fully involved on the porch and I could tell the front room just inside from the porch was already on fire. It took us a minute to get a hose line out and the fire had already gotten into the house," Stephenson said.
"We knocked down the fire in probably about 15 to 20 minutes. It took about a half an hour to go in and control the fire completely."
Stephenson said overall combating the blaze went smooth and there was plenty of access to water. During the blaze, a portion of West Street was closed - from Churchill Street to the college. One lane was eventually reopened to allow those at the college to leave the area.
Small portion of Fred Mason Road Closed After Minor Car Accident
CHESHIRE, Mass. — A minor accident involving a tractor trailer truck and a car closed a portion of Fred Mason Road on Tuesday.
Cheshire Fire Department, Police Department and Ambulance responded to a car accident around 5 p.m. Tuesday evening when a Toyota RAV 4 collided with a parked tractor trailer truck.
"The truck pulled over for directions, he was going to make a phone call because he wasn’t sure where he was going," Police Officer Mike Alibozek said. "He said a hand full of cars passed him and then he was hit."
Alibozek said the driver looked down and was unable to stop before she could see the truck.
There were no injuries.
"She went to get checked out. She had couple of abrasions on her chest from the seat belt but other than that she was fine," he said.
The front of the car was substantially damaged and the back of the tank connected to the truck was leaking.
Initially this brought immediate concerns, however, the truck was only transporting pool water.
"It was just pool water, which is fortunate," Alibozek said.
The road was closed from where it connects with Route 8 to where it turns onto Reservoir Road.
Nationwide Creepy Clown Hoax Comes To The Berkshires
 |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The nationwide spree of reported sightings of menacing clowns has reached the Berkshires.
For months police departments across the country have been fielding calls reporting clowns making threats, chasing people, or luring children - most of which have been hoaxes. The reports have caused disruptions in schools, even prompting school closures and lockdowns on college campuses.
On Monday, Pittsfield Police received two calls reporting such instances. According to scanner reports, the first call claimed a clown was chasing a person on Tyler Street. Later, a second call reported clowns on Wahconah Street, possibly with weapons.
On Tuesday, Police said one of those calls was determined to be unfounded while officers were unable to locate the alleged clown in the other.
"We're monitoring the situation locally and nationally, but don’t have anything further to provide at this time," Chief Michael Wynn wrote in an e-mail.
There were also rumors of sightings in other Berkshire towns Monday night as well, including North Adams and Adams. A dispatcher in Adams said there were no clown sightings, and that whatever alleged sightings have been circulating are just rumors.
An outbreak of such reports are nothing new and seemingly arise in various parts of the country every few years - the most recent rash of such reports in 2014.
In August of this year, a growing number of reports were being made, which fueled hysteria in many cities and towns and leading to many copycat callers. That trend has picked up steam and in September, found its way to Massachusetts.
In Greenfield on Sept. 17 police fielded a report of a man in a clown costume "lurking" at the Franklin County Fairground, according to the Greenfield Recorder. Also on Monday, a dormitory at Merrimack College was evacuated after a report on Twitter that an armed clown was inside, according to the Boston Globe. In both of those cases, authorities did not find any suspicious activity.
Witnesses Sought in Williamstown Hit-and-Run
 |
| Police are searching for a vehicle like this one in connection with the accident. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police are seeking witnesses to an apparent hit-and-run accident on Saturday on Route 7.
At about 9:30 p.m., Williamstown Police officers responded to a 911 call for an injured woman in the roadway on Cold Spring Road (Route 7), just south of the ‘6 House Pub.
Officers found Wendy McCarthy, 51, of Cold Spring Road had been struck by a southbound vehicle. Vehicle parts recovered at the scene indicate it was a 2014 Ford Escape, color black.
McCarthy suffered serious, non-life threatening injuries to the right side of her body.
Police are seeking the public’s health in identifying the vehicle involved. It may have damage to the driver’s side front, and it is missing the driver side mirror.
Anyone with information is asked to call 413-458-5733.
Superior Court Briefs: Sept. 26 - Sept. 29
 |
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Monday, September 26.
Jose Liriano-Vasquez, 30, of Pittsfield was found guilty of single counts of possession of cocaine and possession of heroin.
He was ordered to serve concurrent one-year sentences at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant at his Harvard Street home on June 18, 2015.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, September 28.
Timothy Welch, 47, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime, possession of burglarious tools, larceny from a building, and common and notorious thief.
He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $10,000 bail. Welch is accused of breaking into the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield on May 12, 2016.
Henry Brazeau, 49, of North Adams had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on three counts of rape, and two counts of caretaker abuse of a disabled person.
He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire COunty House of Correction on $50,000 bail. The charges stem form an incident involving a 22-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man in North Adams between May 15, 2016 and July 20, 2016.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Thursday, September 29.
Tammy Armstrong, 31, of North Adams pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of heroin, using a motor vehicle without authority, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, and number plate violation.
She was ordered to serve 583 days at the Berkshire County House of Correction, with time served, on the cocaine and using a motor vehicle without authority charges. She was ordered to serve two years, sentence suspended for 18 months, on the possession of heroin charge. She was concurrent time on operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license charge and the number plate violation was filed.
The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on February 24, 2015.
Jason Burgos-Ledford, 24, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
He was ordered to serve nine months of a two and a half year sentence at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charge stems from a motor vehicle stop in Pittsfield on September 8, 2015.
A single count of conspiracy to violate drug laws was dismissed by the state.
Jeffrey Benoit Jr., 26, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to two counts of burning a dwelling house, burning a motor vehicle, and burning personal property.
He was ordered to serve 304 days of a two-year sentence at the Berkshire County House of Correction, with time served. He was also placed on two-years probation.
The charges stem from a series of incident in Pittsfield on December 1, 2015.
