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An image posted to Facebook by the Pittsfield Police Department shows a gray pickup truck sitting inside Samel's Deli on Elm Street. The accident occurred before 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
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A pickup truck is removed from the front entrance of Samel's Deli.
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Police expect to release more information on the collission.
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A structure fire occurred earlier Wednesday 233-235 First St. That incident is also under investigation.

Truck Crashes Into Pittsfield's Samel's Deli

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Elm Street will be partially closed as cleanup continues. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wednesday morning was busy for Pittsfield first responders, as a pickup truck crashed into Samel's Deli & Catering and a fire broke out on First Street.

Around 9:45 a.m., the police reported that the street in front of Samel's Deli & Catering would be closed or down to one lane as a result of a two-car collision that sent the truck careening into the deli.

The department posted two photos on Facebook, one depicting the 2008 silver truck with New York license plates crashed through the glass of the front entrance and another of a white Honda CR-V with significant damage to the front end.

"A vehicle was coming out of one of the alleyways here and struck this truck, which continued into the building," Police Officer Craig Jones explained when iBerkshires arrived on the scene.

Jones reported that there was one injury, but not whether it was someone in the vehicles or in the deli. A crossing signal near Samel's front entrance was also taken out by the truck.

Capt. Matthew Hill later reported that the two drivers involved in the accident were taken to Berkshire Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. He said no one inside or directly outside of Samel's Deli was injured. The report did not include names or if anyone was being charged. 

Crews worked to clear debris in front of the restaurant as the truck was towed away. That section of the road reopened around 11 a.m.

The police, firefighters and an ambulance responded to the accident and police intend to release a statement on the incident.



Around 6:15 a.m., the Fire Department reported that it had responded to a possible structure fire at 233-235 First St. Windows on all three floors of the multi-family building are now broken or boarded up and the cause is under investigation by the Fire Investigation Unit and investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office.

Upon arrival, Engine 3 reported heavy fire and smoke from the 235 side of the five-apartment building. A command was established, and a second alarm was called, bringing all on-duty apparatus and personnel to the scene.
 
Engine 3 and Engine 2 initiated an interior attack, while Engines 6 and 5 conducted search and rescue operations. It was unknown if the building was occupied at the time. Engine 1 was assigned as the Rapid Intervention Team (RIT).
 
The fire was brought under control in approximately one hour. No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. Off-duty Pittsfield fire personnel and the Dalton Fire Department provided mutual aid to cover the city. Eversource and Berkshire Gas secured utilities to the building.


Tags: motor vehicle accident,   structure fire,   

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Pittsfield Switching to OpenGov for Permitting Software

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city plans to move on from its "clunky" permitting software in the new fiscal year, switching to OpenGov instead. 

On Thursday, the Finance Subcommittee supported a $199,269 free cash appropriation for the conversion to a new online permitting software. Chief Information Officer Kevin Zawistowski explained that Permit Eyes, the current governmental software, is no longer meeting Pittsfield's needs. 

The nearly $200,000 appropriation is for the software license and implementation. Going forward, the annual cost for OpenGov will be about $83,000; about $66,000 for the next fiscal year, not including building permits. 

"We've had significant issues across the board with the functionality of the system, right down to the actual permits that they're attempting to help us with," he said. 

"Without going into details with that, we have to find a new system so that our permits can actually be done effectively, and we can kind of restore trust in our permitting process online." 

The city is having delays on permits, customer support, and a "lack of ownership and apology" when mistakes are made, Zawistowski reported. Pittsfield currently pays $49,280 annually for the software, which Open Gov is expected to replace after July 1. 

Running alongside this effort, the city wants to bring building permitting software under the city umbrella, rather than being countywide under the vendor Pittsfield is moving away from. 

Finance Director Matthew Kerwood explained that the city has gone through a procurement process, OpenGov being the lowest bidder, and the vendor has been paid with contingency money "because we needed to get this project moving." He said Permit Eyes is a "clunky" piece of software, and the company has not invested in technology upgrades where it should have. 

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