image description — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and officers from the Williamstown Fire Department respond to an incident at the First Congregational Church on Sunday afternoon.

No Serious Injuries Reported in Hazmat Incident at Williamstown Church

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com
06:38AM / Monday, September 08, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — About two dozen people were evaluated for minor respiratory irritation Sunday afternoon during a tag sale at First Congregational Church.

Fire Chief Jeffrey Dias said the department was called at about 2 p.m. after a number of people participating in the sale reported minor breathing issues.

Emergency medical services personnel examined 28 people, but none were transported from the site by ambulance, Dias said.

He asked for a Tier 1 hazardous materials response from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, which arrived on scene just before 4 p.m.

At about 4:15, Dias said he expected the room where the tag sale was held shortly to be given the all clear for reoccupation.

Dias said the source of the respiratory irritation had not been determined and was still under investigation.

Tags: hazmat,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Mount Greylock Schools Bracing for Another Big Health Insurance Hit

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
12:42PM / Monday, January 12, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Like municipal entities across the county, the Mount Greylock Regional School District is bracing for another year of steep increases in health insurance costs.

It is unknown just how steep, but Superintendent Joseph Bergeron tried to prepare the School Committee at its January meeting on Thursday.

"The rumors, just so you hear them from me … are not confirmed, but right now, the projections are we might be close to a 20 percent increase in what's proposed in order to have premiums cover cost," Bergeron said.

"We're going to see where that goes. That's not at all confirmed. But, if true, a 20 percent increase, if that needs to go all to the appropriated budget, that by itself would be a 3.6 percent increase in our assessments."

Those are the assessments the district makes to member towns Lanesborough and Williamstown that voters each see in the form of, effectively, a bill that gets approved each spring at the annual town meeting.

For the current fiscal year, FY26, the district sent the towns assessments that were up from FY25 by 6.45 percent in Lanesborough and 7.59 percent in Williamstown.

Those hikes largely were driven by the 16 percent health insurance hike sought by the Berkshire Health Group to cover the cost of municipal employees covered by the joint purchase group.

View Full Story