Berkshire Community College Brings On New Faculty and Staff

Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College has announced new faculty and staff additions.

Pam Coley McCann joined BCC as an assistant professor of human services. Prior to joining the college, McCann had a full-time private practice in Pittsfield, and before that she worked for the Department of Mental Health as a clinical social worker. McCann received a master’s degree in social work at Springfield College. She currently lives in Pittsfield with her husband and her dog.

Antonia Buckley joined BCC as the Berkshire Immigrant Stories coordinator. Buckley previously worked as a freelance photographer and was a co-founder of The Hoping Machine. Buckley received a master’s degree in photo design from Dortmund, Germany, and lives in Pittsfield with her husband and two cats.

Lynn Pettit joined BCC as an assistant professor of nursing. Pettit previously worked at Berkshire Medical Center as a clinical educator. She is an alum of the nursing program; she also received her bachelor’s degree at Elms College and received her master’s in nursing education at Norwich University. Pettit lives in Cheshire with her husband, her three children, and her dog and cat.

Nicholas Kline joined BCC as an equipment operator. Prior to his current job, Kline worked for Bianco Landscaping and Property Maintenance. He received his associate’s degree in landscape contracting from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMASS Amherst, and a bachelor’s degree in natural resource conservation from UMass Amherst. Kline currently lives in Hinsdale with his fiancé.

David Nicol joined BCC as an assistant professor of nursing. Nicol previously worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Twin Valley Middle High School and as a health officer at Connecticut Yankee Boy Scouts. Nicol received a master’s degree at the University of Hartford in science and nursing. He currently lives in Bennington, Vt., with his wife, and four rescued dogs.

Barb Kotelnicki joined BCC as an assistant professor of education. Kotelnicki previously worked as a STEM program manager at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and as an adjunct instructor for their Education department. Prior to that, she was an adjunct Instructor at Townson University, an elementary school teacher, and a reading teacher. She received a bachelor’s degree at LaSalle University, and received a master’s degree from Towson University. Kotelnicki currently lives in Dalton with her husband, her three children, and her dog.


Tags: BCC,   

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

State Fire Marshal: New Tracking Tool Identifies 50 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires

STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' new tool for tracking lithium-ion battery fires has helped to identify 50 such incidents in the past six months, more than double the annual average detected by a national fire data reporting system, said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine.
 
The Department of Fire Services launched its Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Investigative Checklist on Oct. 13, 2023. It immediately went into use by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and local fire departments were urged to adopt it as well. 
 
Developed by the DFS Fire Safety Division, the checklist can be used by fire investigators to gather basic information about fires in which lithium-ion batteries played a part. That information is then entered into a database to identify patterns and trends.
 
"We knew anecdotally that lithium-ion batteries were involved in more fires than the existing data suggested," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "In just the past six months, investigators using this simple checklist have revealed many more incidents than we've seen in prior years."
 
Prior to the checklist, the state's fire service relied on battery fire data reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS), a state-level tool that mirrors and feeds into the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). NFIRS tracks battery fires but does not specifically gather data on the types of batteries involved. Some fields do not require the detailed information that Massachusetts officials were seeking, and some fires may be coded according to the type of device involved rather than the type of battery. Moreover, MFIRS reports sometimes take weeks or months to be completed and uploaded.
 
"Investigators using the Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Checklist are getting us better data faster," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "The tool is helpful, but the people using it are the key to its success."
 
From 2019 to 2023, an average of 19.4 lithium-ion battery fires per year were reported to MFIRS – less than half the number identified by investigators using the checklist over the past six months. The increase since last fall could be due to the growing number of consumer devices powered by these batteries, increased attention by local fire investigators, or other factors, State Fire Marshal Davine said. For example, fires that started with another item but impinged upon a battery-powered device, causing it to go into thermal runaway, might not be categorized as a battery fire in MFIRS or NFIRS.
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories