Berkshire Benchmarks Releases State of the County Update

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Benchmarks data team recently released a State of the County Update for 2023. 
 
This brief report builds on the Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County Report published in May 2022 and highlights notable changes in regional indicators over the past year. The berkshirebenchmarks.org website has also been updated to reflect the most current available data. 
 
The purpose of the Benchmarks initiative and report is to highlight the region's successes and challenges.
 
The 2022 Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County report provided a comprehensive overview of our region's performance across eight sectors: Economy, Education, Environment, Government, Health, Housing, Social Environment, and Transportation.  
 
In the future, the Berkshire Benchmarks team will continue to monitor these and other indicators to aid with the regional understanding of changes in these sectors and whether the work happening throughout the region is having the intended impact. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks is a collaborative initiative managed through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Our sources are publicly available data, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey, various Massachusetts data sets, and periodic surveys of Berkshire County residents. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks aims to work with the community to understand priorities and help inform the region on how we are doing and if we are improving. Berkshire Benchmarks enhances the region's access to quality data and analysis. 

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Dalton Fire Makes Quick Work of Gasoline Fire

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Firefighters made quick work of a fire that started in a garage on Main Street on Thursday at about 4:30 p.m. 
 
Fire Chief Chris Cachat said the occupant was working on some motorcycles and "gasoline spilled, and there was a space heater that ignited."
 
It was going to be ruled as accidental, he said. 
 
All the occupants were accounted for and one cat was rescued. He said there should be no problem with the occupants getting back into the house once the electrical inspector clears the 
 
"The crews did a great job," the chief said, adding the late afternoon provided for more hands. "Perfect time of day to have something like this happen. We were able to get in here, get it knocked down."
 
The Fire Department was supported by police, Hinsdale, Windsor and Pittsfield fire departments, County Ambulance, the Water Department and Eversource.
 
Main Street was closed from Weston to Depot street for about an hour and half. 
 
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