image description
Area firefighters respond to the report of a structure fire at Craneville Elementary School in Dalton. The Dalton Fire Department has been using a loaned Boston truck.

Craneville Elementary Evacuated After Smoke Fills Building

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

Parents line up to be reunited with their children at the Stationery Factory, the school's emergency location. 
DALTON, Mass. — Pupils at Craneville Elementary School were evacuated from the school on Monday after two motors in the heating and ventilation system burnt out and sent smoke through the building.
 
According to a message to parents from Superintendent of Schools Leslie Blake-Davis, staff noticed an odor at about 10:45 a.m. that "warranted a fire drill."
 
"It has been recommended by emergency personnel that students and staff relocate to the Stationary Factory (this is our emergency relocation site) to allow emergency personnel to ensure the issue is fully resolved before students re-enter the building," she wrote.
 
Two children were reportedly taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield by Lanesborough Ambulance for headaches. 
 
"We didn't actually have a fire here today, they had a power outage and they lost a phase on the electrical system and two HVAC motors burned out and sent an odor and smoke haze through the whole building," said Dalton Fire Lt. Zackery Morrissey on Monday afternoon.
 
The smoke set off the box alarm, alerting the Fire Department. 
 
He said school officials were advised to release the students because of the severity of the problem wasn't known. 
 
"We had smoke in the furthest wing to through the whole school," Morrissey said. "So it was kind of hard to figure out which wing, what was going on, and we had to search every classroom and we're still not even done with this."
 
The lieutenant said the first firefighters were on the scene at 10:46 a.m. and he immediately hit a first alarm assignment calling for mutual aid. Other units arrived only minutes later. 
 
"We did an emergency evacuation of the whole school and everybody's being sent home or bussed home, per the school's procedure," Morrissey said. 
 
Parents were lined up at the Stationery Factory after noon to pick up their children. 
 
In addition to Dalton Fire, Dalton Police and Dalton, Hinsdale and Lanesborough ambulances responded.

Tags: fire,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield City Council Weighs in on 'Crisis' in Public Schools

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

A half-dozen people addressed the City Council from the floor of Monday's meeting, including Valerie Anderson, right.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After expressing anger and outrage and making numerous calls for accountability and transparency, the 11 members of the City Council on Monday voted to support the School Committee in seeking an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members at Pittsfield High School that have come to light in recent weeks.
 
At the close of a month that has seen three PHS administrators put on administrative leave, including one who was arrested on drug trafficking charges, the revelation that the district is facing a civil lawsuit over inappropriate conduct by a former teacher and that a staff member who left earlier in the year is also under investigation at his current workplace, the majority of the council felt compelled to speak up about the situation.
 
"While the City Council does not have jurisdiction over the schools … we have a duty to raise our voices and amplify your concerns and ensure this crisis is met with the urgency it demands," Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey said.
 
About two dozen community members attended the special meeting of the council, which had a single agenda item.
 
Four of the councilors precipitated the meeting with a motion that the council join the School Committee in its search for an investigation and that the council, "be included in the delivery of any disclosures, interim reports or findings submitted to the city."
 
Last week, the School Committee decided to launch that investigation. On Monday, City Council President Peter White said the School Committee has a meeting scheduled for Dec. 30 to authorize its chair to enter negotiations with the Springfield law firm of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas to conduct that probe.
 
Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre, the principal author of the motion of support, was one of several members who noted that the investigation process will take time, and she, like Kavey, acknowledged that the council has no power over the public schools beyond its approval of the annual district budget.
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories