No One Injured in Monday Fire at Williams Dorm

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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A truck from a fire restoration service is seen in front of Hubbell House at Williams College on Tuesday afternoon. 
 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Quick thinking by a Williams College student is being credited with helping to limit damage from a fire in a residence hall on Monday night.
 
Firefighters from Williamstown and Pownal, Vt., responded to a fire that was reported at around 9 p.m. in Hubbell House.
 
No injuries resulted from the blaze, which fire officials say could be traced to a bathroom light and ceiling fan.
 
"Hats off to the student in the room," Williamstown Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Noyes said on Tuesday. "She found it early. They contained it by closing doors on the way out. She made a difference."
 
College officials said Tuesday that students living in the dorm were relocated to other facilities on Tuesday night and that Hubbell House likely will remain closed until the school’s summer session ends on Friday, Aug. 11.
 
A college spokesperson reported in a campuswide email that the damage to the dorm appears to be "quite limited" but the school planned to do a structural engineering assessment this week to make sure it will be ready for the fall semester.
 
Noyes said eight firefighters from Williamstown and six from Pownal responded to the third floor fire. Northern Berkshire EMS also was on standby.
 
Hubbell House is part of the Dodd neighborhood on the north side of the college's campus, near the campus cemetery. According to the Williams website, the dorm has 17 single rooms and two doubles.

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Concerns Over PFAS Spark Sewage Debate in Williamstown

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

The composting facility at the intermunicipal wastewater plant is operating at about two-thirds capacity. 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Forever chemicals are the source of a protracted debate for the Select Board.
 
Out of 15 fiscal articles on the warrant for the annual town meeting in May, the board last Monday voted to recommend passage of 14.
 
It delayed its decision on Article 5, which concerns the budget for the sewer department, more specifically the town's share of operating costs for the Hoosac Water Quality District.
 
Some members of the community, including a member of the Select Board, say the district is choosing a course of action that is at odds with the environmental principles that the town espouses.
 
The HWQD is a 55-year-old intermunicipal entity shared by Williamstown and the city of North Adams.
 
Residents of both communities on public sewer service send their wastewater to a treatment facility in Williamstown off Simonds Road (Route 7).
 
The facility cleans and treats the wastewater and discharges it into the nearby Hoosic River.
 
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