The Fire Chiefs Association presented a $500 check to Council on Aging Director Vincent Marinaro in honor of the former captain.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Even after retiring from the Fire Department, Capt. Richard Briggs would attend monthly meetings of the Berkshire County Fire Chiefs Association.
Briggs had been a member of the Fire Department from 1952 until 1984 and continued to stay in touch.
"I know he gave his heart and soul to the Fire Department for 32 years that he worked there and stayed with the fire service, mentoring us, talking to us," Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said.
"Every month he brought up a good topic for discussion in regards to fire prevention, rules, regulations, codes and things like that."
A month ago, the chiefs got the news that Briggs had died at the age of 92. The Fire Chiefs Association decided it wanted to do something in Briggs' honor and on Friday, Czerwinski and Dalton Fire Chief Gerald Cahalan presented the Friends of the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center with a $500 check.
"He was a fantastic man. We all miss him. We all love him and this is just something we wanted to do in his honor," Czerwinski said.
"We were really upset when we got the news Dick had passed away."
Briggs was active at the senior center and had served as the chairman of the Council on Aging and he was the vice president of the Friends of the center.
"A lot of the stuff we have at the senior center and our staff, we are all better for the fact that Dick Briggs was here every day," Council on Aging Director Vincent Marinaro said.
The senior center already has a sign in Briggs' honor, reserving his seat. Marinaro recalled many conversations he used to have with Briggs at the center.
The check was presented in front of Briggs friends, family, and members of the Friends of the Froio Senior Center.
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Pittsfield Woman Dies After Being Rescued From Structure Fire
The Berkshire District Attorney's Office confirmed on Tuesday that Susan Steenstrup, 67, died after she was pulled from the blaze at 1 Marlboro Drive. The cause of death has not been confirmed.
Steenstrup was found on the second-floor by firefighters who responded to the blaze at about 6:45 p.m. She was taken by County Ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center.
The two-story, 1930s home is coned off and shows signs of the emergency response such as a broken front window where crews entered to rescue Steenstrup. The fire was reported to have spread from the kitchen and a cause has not yet been determined.
Steenstrup was the only occupant at the time. The home had been in her family since at least the 1960s.
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