Home About Archives RSS Feed

Bennington College Fire Causes $250K in Damages

Staff Reports
BENNINGTON, Vt. — A fire on Tuesday afternoon caused $250,000 worth of damage to a building at Bennington College.
 
According to state police, the fire was reported at about 1 p.m. at the North Bennington campus from the administrative offices. The staff was alerted to the fire by a contractor who was performing work on the outside of the building. 
 
The North Bennington Fire Department was alerted and responded to the scene. Because of the amount of smoke and fire upon arrival, additional assistance was requested and members of the following departments responded: Bennington, Bennington Rural and Shaftsbury and New York State's Hoosick Falls and North Hoosick. 
 
Bennington College security and firefighters were able to evacuate everyone safely and firefighters were able to prevent extensive damage or spread of the fire. No injuries were reported.
 
North Bennington Fire Chief Keith Cross requested the assistance of the state Department of Public Safety's Fire and Explosions Investigation Unit to assist in confirming the origin and cause for the fire. Members of this team immediately responded to examine the scene.
 
The investigators were State Police Det. Sgt. Steven Otis and Assistant State Fire Marshal Tim Angell of the Division of Fire Safety. 
 
As a result of the examination, this fire is being classified as accidental. There were two potential electrical causes: one is the general state of the wiring in the very old farm building that had been converted to office space and the second, the ongoing contractual work that had been on the exterior of this building for the past two weeks included nailing replacement siding and door and window trim.
 
The fire originated on the interior of the walls on the east side of the building and extended through the balloon-frame construction and into the attic/crawl space, which was extensively damaged. There had been electrical issues reported during the day by staff that included flickering lights and a humming or beehive like sounds coming from the exterior wall.
 
Otis and Angell recommended that when you experience an electrical anomaly or hear strange sounds coming from within a wall that has electricity running through it that you contact an electrician, building maintenance or electrical engineer to diagnose any possible issues. This could save lives and or prevent extensive damage to the structure. These issues can often be isolated simply by shutting off the breaker to an affected area until it can be properly diagnosed or inspected.
 
     

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
Williamstown Select Board Awards ARPA Funds to Remedy Hall
North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration
Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat
Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council
WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'
BCC Wins Grant for New Automatic External Defibrillator
Clark Art Screens 'Adaptation'
Drury High School to Host End-of-Year Showcase
Clarksburg Gets 3 Years of Free Cash Certified
Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

Police Logs

Pittsfield Police

North Adams

Crimewatch Links

North Adams CrimeWatch

Stamford/Clarksburg CrimeWatch

Pittsfield CrimeWatch

Emergency: 911
Adams 413-743-1212
Clarksburg 413-663-7795
Cheshire 413-743-1501
Dalton 413-684-0300
Great Barrington 413-528-0306
Lanesborough 413-443-4107
Lee 413-243-2100
Lenox 413-637-2346
North Adams 413-664-4944
Pittsfield 413-448-9700
Richmond 413-698-3315
Stockbridge 413-298-4179
Williamstown 413-458-5733
West Stockbridge 413-232-7938
State Police  
Cheshire Barracks
413-743-
4700
Lee Barracks 413-243-0600
Shaftsbury, Vt., Barracks 802-442-3263

 



Categories:
Adams (92)
Alford (0)
Becket (8)
Cheshire (23)
Clarksburg (41)
Dalton (6)
Egremont (2)
Florida (9)
Great Barrington (34)
Hancock (5)
Hinsdale (5)
Lanesborough (30)
Lee (14)
Lenox (11)
Monterey (0)
Mount Washington (1)
New Ashford (4)
New Marlborough (2)
North Adams (248)
Otis (2)
Peru (3)
Pittsfield (318)
Pownal (16)
Readsboro (17)
Richmond (10)
Sandisfield (5)
Savoy (6)
Sheffield (5)
Stamford (31)
State (1)
Stockbridge (6)
Tyringham (1)
Washington (1)
West Stockbridge (1)
Williamstown (79)
Windsor (3)
Archives:
Tags:
Burglary Break-ins Armed Robbery Robbery Buglaries Veremko Heroin Structure Fire Homicide Stabbing Search & Rescue Motor Vehicle Accident Shooting Murder Injuries Drugs Assaults Pedestrians Hit & Run Police Investigation Fatal Fraud Drug Charges Fire Crime Watch Larceny Rape Search Mvi Accident Assault Missing Persons Motor Vehicle Vehicle Motorcycles
Popular Entries:
Superior Court Briefs: March 14 - March 16
Fatal Accident Closes Route 8 in Adams
Superior Court Briefs: May 2 - May 6
Woman Pleads Guilty in Sandisfield Fatal Crash
Superior Court Briefs: March 28 - March 31
Pittsfield Woman Pleads Guilty in Husband's Slaying
Superior Court Briefs: May 18 - 19
Superior Court Briefs: March 8 - March 11
Superior Court Briefs: March 23 - March 24
New Ashford Crash Turns Fatal for Williamstown Man
Recent Entries:
State Police Bust $3M Illegal Pot Growing Operation in Savoy
First-Responders Searching for Lost Hiker on Mount Greylock
Pittsfield Driver Injured in Elm Street Accident
North Adams Police Investigate Possible Shooting Incident
Williamstown Police Looking into Cemetery Vandalism
Florida Woman Dies in Motorcycle Accident
Pittsfield Fire Responds to Kitchen Blaze
Juvenile Arrested in North Adams Shooting
North Adams Police Seeking Information on Shooting Incident
Pittsfield Police Seek Information on Sunday Night Shootings