A condominium building on Daniels Avenue suffered extensive damage after a fire on Monday night.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A two-alarm fire on Daniels Avenue late Monday night ripped through three-story building and left two firefighters reeling from heat exhaustion.
According to the report by Deputy Chief Bruce Kilmer, firefighters responded with five engines and a ladder truck to the 133 Daniels Ave. about 10:37 p.m. There was heavy fire showing on the front of the wood-frame building near the corner of Madison Avenue.
"Upon our arrival, aggressive attack with landlines by first arriving crews slowed the fire," wrote Kilmer.
There was no one in the building during the fire but three families were displaced and being aided by the Red Cross with temporary housing.
Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration, one at the scene and the other after being transported to Berkshire Medical Center.
The building is considered a major loss because of fire, smoke and water damage. It sustained severe structural damage to the first floor that extended into the second floor and partway into the third floor. The building was insured.
The structure contained condominium units developed by Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Monday, July 28.
Nathaniel Reilly, 32, of Lee pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of heroin and a single count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
He was ordered to serve two and a half years at the Berkshire County House of Correction. Reilly sold heroin on January 21, 2014 and January 23, 2013 and was in possession of heroin with intent to sell when he was arrested on January 23, 2014.
Charles Crisp, 31, of Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of heroin.
He was ordered to serve seven months at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on February 21, 2014.
A single count of being present where heroin is kept was dismissed by the state.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Tuesday, July 29.
Messiah Grandson, 22, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to single counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and misleading a police officer or other person.
He was ordered to serve two and a half years at the Berkshire County House of Correction on the assault and battery charge and given a one-year sentence to be served after on the misleading a police officer.
Grandson assaulted a 42-year-old man in North Adams on June 15, 2013. A single count of armed assault with intent to murder was dismissed by the state.
Brittany Gresser, 23, of Pittsfield was found guilty on a single count of assault and battery.
She was placed on probation for one year.
She was found not guilty on two counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, on a single count of mayhem as well as an additional assault and battery.
The charges stem from a fight at the Back 9 Bar on March 16, 2013 and involved two women, ages 22 and 26.
Alicya Hubbard, 23, of Pittsfield was found guilty on a single count of assault and battery.
She was placed on probation for one year.
She was found not guilty on two counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, on a single count of mayhem as well as an additional assault and battery.
The charges stem from a fight at the Back 9 Bar on March 16, 2013 and involved two women, ages 22 and 26.
Shanay Jones, 35, of Pittsfield was found not guilty on two counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault and battery.
Nathaniel Greene, 48, of Lee had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol - his fifth offense - and operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license as a habitual traffic offender.
He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without the right to bail. The charges stem from a single-vehicle crash in Lee on June 20, 2014.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, July 30.
Annette Matta, 25, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
She was sentenced to two and a half to four years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction.
A single count of possession of phencyclidine was dismissed by the state.
The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant at her home on September 4, 2013.
Jonathan Delaney, 30, of Washington pleaded guilty to a single count of operating under the influence of alcohol, operating to endanger causing serious bodily injury.
He was ordered to serve two years at the Berkshire County House of Correction. Two other charges were placed on file.
The charges stem from a two-vehicle accident in Dalton on November 23, 2013 that injured a 73-year-old woman.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Thursday, July 31.
Christopher Blair, 34, of Hillsdale, N.Y. pleaded guilty to single counts of unarmed robbery and larceny over $250.
He was ordered to serve two years at the Berkshire County House of Correction on the larceny charge and placed on one-year probation on the robbery charge.
Blair robbed the Stockbridge branch of Lee Bank on March 10, 2014.
Ariel Camacho, 28, of Manhattan, N.Y. pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws and single counts of trafficking in oxycodone, distribution of cocaine, possession of heroin, resisting arrest, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and furnishing a false name to a police officer.
He was sentenced to concurrent three to five years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the trafficking in oxycodone, distribution of cocaine and conspiracy charges. He was given concurrent time at the Berkshire County House of Correction on the others.
The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on February 21, 2014.
Single counts of being present where heroin is kept, failure to stop for a police officer and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle were dismissed by the state.
Grace Mary Stanley, 25, of North Adams pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of oxycodone, possession of cocaine, being present where heroin is kept and possession of heroin.
She was ordered to serve concurrent 32-day sentences at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on February 21, 2014.
Two additional counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws were dismissed by the state.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Gas is reporting some of its business customers are being contacted by scammers claiming they are behind on their accounts and demanding immediate payment.
According to Berkshire Gas, the callers are asking for payment by credit over the phone.
Several of the fraudulent calls have showed up as originating from 617-419-5406 in the recipients caller ID. Berkshire Gas said it has reported this information to the state police, the attorney general's office and the Department of Public Utilities.
The scam sounds similar to one last year in which callers targeted local businesses claiming to be from National Grid and demanding they purchase money cards to pay their overdue bills.
Berkshire Gas says it never seeks immediate payment of overdue accounts by credit card, or any other method, over the telephone. If you receive such a call, contact their customer information center at 1-800-292-5012 to report it.
If a Berkshire Gas customer ever doubts the authenticity of any call that they receive from Berkshire Gas, they should hang up and call the Berkshire Gas customer information center at 1-800-292-5012 to verify that the call was actually form Berkshire Gas, or one of its authorized representatives.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Monday, July 21.
Catherine Brackett, 23, of North Adams pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws and single counts of distribution of cocaine and assault and battery on a public employee.
She was ordered to serve one year at the Berkshire County House of Correction on one count of conspiracy to violate drug laws and one count of distribution of cocaine. She was placed on one-year probation on the rest.
The incidents occurred in North Adams between January 1, 2013 and November 26, 2013.
Michael Cahalan, 44, of Lee pleaded guilty to three counts of knowingly possession visual material of a child depicted in sexual conduct.
He was placed on two-years probation. The incidents occurred in Lee between January 13, 2013 and February 11, 2013. A single count of dissemination of visual material of a child in a state of nudity was dismissed by the state.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Tuesday, July 22.
Quintin Sumpter, 25, of Pittsfield had single counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and batter continued without a finding for a year.
The charges stem from an incident in North Adams on June 15, 2013 and involved a 42-year-old man.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, July 23.
Mario Babbs, 27, of North Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.
He was ordered to serve four to five years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction. Babbs stabbed a 29-year-old man in North Adams on June 2, 2012.
A single count of armed assault with intent to murder was dismissed by the state.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Thursday, July 24.
Jarrod Stanton, 36, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug laws.
He was placed on one-year probation. The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant in New Ashford on October 9, 2012.
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A condominium building on Daniels Avenue suffered extensive damage after a fire on Monday night. 
