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Williamstown Garage Fire Snuffed Out

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff

The garage was destroyed but firefighters prevented the flames from damaging the attached home.

 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Firefighters kept a garage fire from expanding to the attached Henderson Road home on Tuesday.

According to Fire Chief Craig Pedercini, no one was injured in the afternoon blaze and mutual aid was called in from Pownal, Vt. and Clarksburg.
 
Firefighters arrived to a fully involved structure fire and were able to knock it down quickly using Class A foam. The garage was destroyed but they were able to stop the flames from spreading to the attached home.
 
"We got called for a structure fire at 924 Henderson Road and while we were enroute here, we learned it was a garage fire and it was attached to house," Pedercini.
 
"When we arrived here it was a pretty full involvement of the garage. We called in mutual aid from Pownal (Vt.) and Clarksburg."
 
Firefighters drew water from a pond near the property after using more than 2,000 gallons of water in the initial response. The home is the last one on the road.
 
"Establishing our water supply at the pond was very important," Pedercini said. 
 
There are two adults and four or five children living in the home, Pedercini, and all escaped the structure. According to land records, the home is owned by James and Judith Turgeon.
 
The chief said there was heavy fire on the right side of the garage, which was the side closest to the house, and stopping the fire from spreading was the first priority.
 
"Initially we only had three, four, five of us to start the initial attack. But once [more] get here and you get mutual aid, you have a lot of good resources and [the firefighters are] doing a good job," the chief said.
 
He added, "The house looks pretty much untouched."
 
Pedercini said the owner had a wood burning stove in the garage, which could have caused the fire, but a state fire marshall will be on scene to determine the cause later. He said he isn't sure if the home owner has another source of heating.
 
Being a garage fire, Pedercini said firefighters also had to identify and find such hazards as a propane tank for a gas grill and pulled a tank from the blaze before it harmed anybody. 
 
"That is a grave concern when firefighters are up close and pulling things apart," Pedercini said. 
     

Readsboro Rollover Blamed on Slick Roads, Speed

Staff Reports

READSBORO, Vt. — A Florida, Mass., man was able to walk away uninjured after his sport utility vehicle rolled over on Saturday evening.

Cody Laframboise, 19, told state police he was southbound in his 2004 Dodge Durango on Route 8, heading for Route 100, when the rear end of his vehicle lost traction, spinning the vehicle into the opposite lane.

When the rear wheels caught traction again, they sent the vehicle spinning back into its lane. Laframboise told state police he could not gain control of the vehicle. It veered off the southbound lane, went over an embankment and rolled onto its roof.

The accident occurred about 6 p.m. Trooper Justin Walker responded to the scene near the Readsboro and Searsburg town line.

Laframboise was not injured. The SUV incurred heavy damage to the passenger side and is considered totaled.

The road conditions were slippery, with a thin layer of slush and ice. Walker found that both road conditions and speed were a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation.
 

     

Superior Court Briefs: Dec. 11 - Dec. 18

Staff Reports
Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Thursday, December 11.
 
Kassidy Lemire, 20, of North Adams pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, conspiracy to violate drug laws and possession of cocaine.
 
She was placed on one-year probation. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on February 26, 2014.
 
Jordan Moon, 27, of North Adams pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, conspiracy to violate drug laws and possession of cocaine.
 
He was placed on one-year probation. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on February 26, 2014.
 
Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Thursday, December 18.
 
Daivon Henry, 22, of Bronx, N.Y. pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and a single count of assault and battery.
 
He was given concurrent two-year sentences at the Berkshire County House of Correction.
 
The incident occurred in North Adams on July 2, 2013 and involved two men, ages 44 and 54. Three counts of assault and battery, two counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and single counts of aggravated rape, home invasion, and larceny from a person were dismissed by the state.
     

UPS Worker in Pedestrian Accident Treated & Released

Staff Reports

Update and rewrite: 3:42 p.m., Dec. 18, 2014

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A section of Beaver Street was closed to traffic for nearly two hours on Wednesday morning after a United Parcel Service courier was struck while crossing the road.

The courier, Timothy Rooney of Preston Hollow, N.Y., was taken by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, where he was treated and released.

The accident occurred just after 11 a.m. near the intersection with McCauley Road. According to police, the UPS truck was parked pointing south when Rooney, a seasonal worker assisting a UPS driver, had taken out a package and stepped into the path of a southbound green 2000 Ford pickup truck driven by Justin Henderson of Stamford, Vt.

Henderson was found not at fault and the truck incurred minor damage. The roadway, however, was closed until the state police accident reconstruction team could complete its investigation.

     

Four Injured, Pets Lost in Pittsfield Duplex Fire

Staff ReportsiBerkshires Staff

The home on Lincoln Street burned in the early hours.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An early morning fire on Lincoln Street heavily damaged a duplex and injured four, including three firefighters.

One occupant of the home was taken by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center for treatment of burns and smoke-related injuries. Two pets are also missing and another, a cat, died in the blaze.

Two firefighters suffered minor lacerations and another smoke inhalation; all three were treated at the scene.

The cause is under investigation by the Fire Investigation Unit, state fire marshal's office and the Police Detective Bureay.

City firefighters responded to the 2-alarm blaze with five engines and the ladder truck to the structure fire at about 4:13 a.m. According Deputy Chief Michael Polidoro, there was heavy fire extending to the second floor when fire units arrived on the scene.

It took 90 minutes to bring the fire under control. There is heavy fire damage in the front on both the first and second floors and smoke and heat damage to the rest of the building. The owner of the building lived on the first floor; a tenant on the second.

All of the occupants were displaced and the Red Cross was contacted to assist them.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co., Berkshire Gas and city inspectors assisted at the scene; Dalton Fire Department covered the city.

     
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