Girl Scouts to Host 'Geek Is Glam' STEM Expo

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WORCESTER, Mass. — Girls in grades four through eight from all over central and western Massachusetts are invited to celebrate science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the second annual Geek Is Glam (GIG) STEM Expo.

The day-long interactive STEM conference for girls is hosted by the Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts and WPI with more than 100 area education and adventure collaborators. Girls will be exposed to some of the area’s top scientific and engineering minds as they engage in the hands-on aspect of exploration and discovery while they build, explore, assemble and imagine.

Interactive workshops, demonstrations, hands-on exhibits and educational career panels will be presented by: Cambridge Science Festival-Science on the Street; Brain Explorers with the Association for Women in Science; the Burncoat Robotics Team; iRobot; Mass Academy of Math & Science presenting DNA and Rainbows; Museum of Science Engineering is Elementary; Six Flags New England; WorldWide Telescope; SPHERES satellite with Zero Robotics, EcoTarium; Worcester State University; Lemelson-MIT Program; Zoo New England; Mass Audubon/Broad Meadow Brook; Emagination Computer Camps; Bridgewater State University; Seven Hills Charter School; Robotics Resource Center at WPI; Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University; Women in Robotics Engineering Group and Roger Williams Park Zoo, and more.

Among the special guests are Ashley Freiberg, racecar driver and the first woman to ever win a race at Daytona;  Lauren Kuhn, Miss Massachusetts, who was awarded the STEM scholarship at the recent competition; and astronaut Sunita Williams, who is the world record holder for total cumulative spacewalk time.

Registration is required by Oct. 7. For a full list of activities and to register, visit www.gscwm.org/STEMGIG.shtml.

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Pittsfield Firefighters Rescue Woman From Burning Home

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A woman was saved from the second floor of a structure fire on Marlboro Drive on Friday evening. 
 
Two search teams had to work through a hoarding situation inside the single-family home at 1 Marlboro after the blaze was called in at about 6:45 p.m. 
 
The woman was found by the Tower 1 team at the top of the stairs about 15 minutes after the first unit arrived on scene. She was taken to Berkshire Medical Center by County Ambulance. 
 
Neighbors first reported smoke coming from the house with fire alarms sounding. Engine 6 confirmed smoke coming from the house and were met with serious hoarding conditions making access inside the house difficult. Engine 2 was requested to respond as well and eight off-duty firefighters were called in to man an engine and ladder truck at headquarters to cover the city. 
 
Multiple companies worked to overcome the hoarding condition behind the entry door to get inside and locate a spreading fire in the kitchen on the first floor. At this time, neighbors informed firefighters there was a woman still inside the house and that she usually stays on the second floor. T1 crew worked to gain access the second story from the front while Engine 3 went to a rear second-floor window. Both companies were tasked with a "Vent Enter Search" tactic that focuses on getting directly to the victim, which can be extremely dangerous with active fire on the floor below. 
 
E6 located and began extinguishing the majority of the fire in the kitchen while T1 made entry under extreme smoke conditions. Minutes later they located the woman and worked to get her out a rear window to the E3 team. 
 
Once water supply had been established, primary and secondary searches were conducted of all floors of the home and the fire was completely extinguished. 
 
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