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Fire officials were on the scene Wednesday morning.

4-Year-Old Child Dies in North Adams Duplex Fire

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The duplex is tucked back off West Shaft Road.
Update Friday, March 14: The victim in Tuesday's fire has been identified by the DA's Office as Ensley Lacosse, age 4, 
 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters battled a late-night structure fire Tuesday that left two people seriously injured and one 4-year-old child dead.
 
According to the District Attorney's Office and local and state fire officials, the structure fire occurred at approximately 11:30 p.m. at a duplex located on West Shaft Road. The North Adams Fire Department responded to the fire in the two-story, two-family home.
 
A video by a passing motorists shows the home fully engulfed in flames. 
 
Upon arrival, five occupants were outside, including an adult and minor with serious injuries. Firefighters were informed that one resident was unaccounted for; that person, a 4-year-old, was located deceased inside.
 
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct a formal identification procedure and determine the cause and manner of death.
 
"On behalf of the North Adams Fire Department, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the family that lost a loved one and their home," said Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre. "This is a terrible loss for them and our community."
 
All the occupants were transported to North Adams Regional Hospital. The two people who sustained serious injuries were flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
 
North Adams firefighters responded to the blaze with mutual aid from Clarksburg and Williamstown. It took about an hour and a half to knock down the bulk of the fire and personnel were still working at the scene well into the morning.
 
The origin and cause of the fire are being investigated by the North Adams Fire Department, North Adams Police Department, State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and State Police assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's office. They are assisted by the Department of Fire Services' Code Compliance and Enforcement Unit.
 
More information will be released as it becomes available. The identification of the individuals in the fire will be released once their families have been notified.

 


Tags: fatal,   structure fire,   

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Key West Bar Gets Probation in Underage Incident

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Key West is on probation for the next six months after an incident of underage drinking back in November. 
 
The License Commission had continued a hearing on the bar to consult with the city solicitor on whether charges could be brought. The opinion was that it was up to the District Attorney. 
 
Chief Mark Bailey at Tuesday's commission meeting said he did not believe criminal charges applied in this instance because no one at the bar "knowingly or intentionally" supplied the alcoholic beverages. 
 
"I feel that the bartender thought that the person was over 21 so it's not like she knowingly provided alcohol to them, to a person under 21. She just assumed that the person at the door was doing their job," he said. "So I don't feel that we can come after them criminally, or the bartender or the doorman, because the doorman did not give them alcohol."
 
The incident involved two 20-year-old men who had been found inside the State Street bar after one of the men's mothers had first taken him out of the bar and then called police when he went back inside. Both times, it appeared neither man had been carded despite a bouncer who was supposed to be scanning identification cards. 
 
The men had been drinking beer and doing shots. The chief said the bouncer was caught in a lie because he told the police he didn't recognize the men, but was seen on the bar's video taking their drinks when police showed up. 
 
Commissioner Peter Breen hammered on the point that if the intoxicated men had gotten behind the wheel of their car, a tragedy could have occurred. He referenced several instances of intoxicated driving, including three deaths, over the past 15 years — none of which involved Key West. 
 
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