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A fire gutted home on High Street in Dalton on Monday afternoon.
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Dalton Fire Damages Home on High Street

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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UPDATED Oct. 12 at 8:56 p.m.—The Fire Marshal determined that the cause of the fire was "careless disposal of smoking materials." 
 
DALTON, Mass. — It took more than hour on Monday for firefighters to knock down a blaze that engulfed a large portion of a home at 177 High St.
 
A neighbor reported the fire in the two-story home around 4:30 p.m.
 
Interim Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said firefighters arrived to find flames extending up the front of the house and into the eaves and the attic. An image posted on Facebook shows the porch section of the building fully involved.
 
One person was treated by the local emergency medical services for smoke inhalation but was not take to the hospital, said Czerwinski. No firefighters were injured.
 
The road from Field Street to Glennon Avenue was closed as firefighters battled the blaze.
 
The home is more than 100 years old and had a lot of void spaces that the blaze could travel, Czerwinski said.  
 
At the time of the interview, the department was waiting on scene for the State Fire Marshal investigator to help determine the cause and origin of the blaze. 
 
Responding to the fire were the Hinsdale and Pittsfield fire departments. Pittsfield provided a ladder truck. Cheshire Fire Department was standing by as a rapid intervention team. The Lanesborough Fire Department covered the town during the incident. 

Tags: structure fire,   

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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A new chapter in local efforts to combat housing insecurity officially began as community leaders and residents gathered at The First on to celebrate a major expansion of supportive housing in the city.

The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street.  The Housing Resource Center, funded by Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, hosted a celebration for a project that is named for its rarity: The First. 

"What got us here today is the power of community working in partnership and with a shared purpose," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said. 

In addition to the 28 studio units at 111 West Housatonic Street and nine units in the rear of the church building, the Housing Resource Center will be open seven days a week with two lounges, a classroom, a laundry room, a bathroom, and lockers. 

Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, challenged attendees to transform the space in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church into a community center.  It is planned to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round.

"I get calls from folks that want to help out, and our shelters just aren't the right spaces to be able to do that. The First will be that space that we can all come together and work for the betterment of our community," Forbush said. 

"…I am a true believer that things evolve, and things here will evolve with the people that are utilizing it." 

Earlier that day, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus joined Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and her team in Housatonic to announce $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $5.45 million to Berkshire County. 

He said it was ambitious to take on these two projects at once, but it will move the needle.  The EOHLC contributed more than $7.8 million in subsidies and $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity for the West Housatonic Street build, and $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the First Street apartments.

"We're trying to get people out of shelter and off the streets, but we know there are a lot of people who are couch surfing, who are living in their cars, who are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves," Augustus said. 

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