Fire Marshal Names New Fire Safety Division Director

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STOW, Mass. — State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey welcomed Brian J. Ingram as director of the Fire Safety Division of the Department of Fire Services.
 
Ingram has more than 30 years of fire and life safety experience, including 15 years in managing fire safety at institutions of higher learning and more than 20 years as a firefighter.
 
"The Fire Safety Division intersects with the fire service, the public, and regulated industries on a daily basis to protect the Commonwealth's communities," said State Fire Marshal Ostroskey. "Brian's extensive background in fire safety, prevention, and protection make him uniquely suited to lead the Division, and it's a great pleasure to welcome him to our team."
 
The Fire Safety Division is one of four divisions within the Department of Fire Services. Its staff conduct and coordinate code compliance and enforcement, fire data collection and reporting, public education, licensing and certification, and other vital functions.
 
"Every individual, family, and community benefits from statewide fire safety resources," Ingram said. "I'm excited to join the dedicated staff who deliver those resources every day, and I look forward to building on the tradition of excellence that the Fire Safety Division is known for."
 
Ingram comes to the Department of Fire Services from Bentley University, where he served as fire safety officer before being named manager of fire and life safety operations. In this role, he was responsible for campus-wide fire and life safety planning, management, supervision, compliance oversight, and system operability, as well as managing the school's fire response and prevention in partnership with the Waltham Fire Department. Prior to that, he was the fire safety officer and fire marshal for Becker College, where he created and administered the first fire safety program in the college's history.
 
Ingram has also served as a firefighter and fire educator in Berlin and West Boylston, and in Farmington, Conn. where he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and named Firefighter of the Year in 1995. He is a graduate of Becker College, a credentialed fire prevention officer, and a certified fire investigator. He is a resident of Marlborough.

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Big Votes Await Pittsfield City Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tuesday is a big day for Pittsfield, as the City Council will take a final vote on the fiscal 2025 budget, a five-year trash contract, and water and sewer rates.

These will be taken in council chambers at the meeting beginning at 6 p.m.

The proposed $215,955,210 spending plan is a 5 percent increase from the previous year and includes a $200,000 cut to the schools. Councilors preliminarily OKed the number a couple of weeks ago with a last-minute cut to the district's budget after "unprofessional" comments from School Committee members.

This drops the school budget to $82.6 million.

All other city departments were preliminarily approved without adjustments over four hearings.

The Pittsfield Police Department budget is proposed to rise 4 percent from $14,364,673 in FY24 to $14,998,410, an increase of about $614,000. A 2.5 percent increase is proposed for the Department of Public Services, rising about $287,000 from $11,095,563 in FY24 to $11,382,122.

Mayor Peter Marchetti has also submitted orders to appropriate $2.5 million from certified free cash to reduce the FY25 tax rate, borrow an aggregate sum not exceeding $10,192,500 for general fund capital expenditures, borrow an aggregate sum not exceeding $7,700,000 for enterprise fund capital expenditures, and transfer and appropriate $234,000 from the public works stabilization fund to the Department of Public Services.

Councilors will also be tasked with the city's trash collection for the next five years, with contracts on the table between the City of Pittsfield and Casella Waste Management, Inc. for solid waste and recyclables collection and for the operation of the Casella-owned transfer station at 500 Hubbard Avenue.

Following three community meetings to engage residents, the council preliminarily approved the five-year contracts with Casella last week. This agreement uses automated collection instead of unlimited trash pickup VIA 48-gallon trash and recycling toters provided at no cost.

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