By Jenn Smith, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 01/29/2008 08:10:15 AM EST
Tuesday, January 29
RICHMOND — A New York state woman was injured yesterday morning after her car crashed into a utility pole and flipped onto the driver's side, partially into the snow.
It took nearly a half-hour for emergency responders to arrive on the scene on Summit Road and to secure and safely remove Eileen Schlegel of Chatham, N.Y., from her overturned red Subaru Forester.
Rescuers were standing near the car with extra blankets and the Jaws of Life, just in case they were needed.
Schlegel, 40, was transported to Berkshire Medical Center. No major injuries were reported. Her condition was unavailable at press time.
State Police Trooper Scott Davis of the Lee barracks investigated the accident. "It just looked like she drifted off the road," he said.
The vehicle had to be towed away.
Davis said Schlegel was given a warning for a marked lanes violation.
Workers from the Western Massachusetts Electric Company spent most of the day barricading the road so they could repair the pole and restore power to the neighboring houses. A total of 36 homes were reported without power as of 2:30 yesterday afternoon.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Fire guts pet shop
By Bonnie Obremski, North Adams Transcript
Article Launched: 01/22/2008 11:45:25 AM EST
NORTH ADAMS — A 7-inch leopard gecko and some fish survived a two-alarm fire in Tropical Gardens Pet Center at 17 Eagle St. Monday morning, but the rest of Terri Blair's animals perished in the blaze, including one parrot that had not been for sale, according to emergency responders.
The two-story fire scathed no humans, but Peter May, who owns the building, said he is afraid upstairs tenants Blair and William Cartwright, who ran the pet store, might not ever return.
"This business was her livelihood," May said of Blair as he shivered across the street from the pale aqua-colored storefront in single-digit temperatures just after 10:30 a.m. "I think that parrot she had was her best friend."
Fire Director Stephen Meranti said authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire, which ignited some time before 9 a.m. in the rear of the first floor and shot upwards through the walls to an attic space. He said the fire is not considered suspicious.
Firefighters exftinguished the blaze in about 45 minutes, after they arrived at 9:02 in response to a 911 call from a pedestrian who heard the building's fire alarm sounding, Meranti said.
"It was not your normal building layout," Meranti said. "It was difficult to get up into those spaces, and there was a lot of electronics equipment on the second floor that made it very difficult to get to where the fire was."
Firefighters, blinded by smoke and working in 8-degree weather, used thermal imag- ing machines to detect flames hidden in voids in an exterior wall and in the space between the second floor ceiling and the roof. Others vented the building by cutting a hole through the roof and through an unexpected sub-layer beneath it.
"The guys did a great job," Meranti said. "They saved the building and prevented the fire from spreading."
Smoke still crept into the surrounding buildings, however, and its smell lingered in the adjacent Bark n' Cat pet supply and gift store. Firefighters wrenched windows from the unoccupied building on Tropical Garden's other side to air the rooms. Hose water froze upon contact with the street's asphalt, posing an additional hazard for firefighters who waddled in stiff gear, the vapors of their breath filtering through their stocking face masks.
Melissa Wilkinson, the city's animal control officer, who responded on her day off, said many birds and fish, a handful of reptiles and about 20 small animals, including gerbils, died as a result of extremely hot temperatures and smoke. She said the surviving tropical fish might still fall ill or die as a result of the heat fluctuation. Emergency responders filled a 20-inch cage with corpses and sat it on the sidewalk, covering it with a blue tarp.
Meranti said the building is salvageable.
"The worst damage is to the roof area and second floor," he said. "It needs quite a bit of work. The first floor needs to be gutted."
The damage estimate was $125,000 to the building and $50,000 to its contents.May said there was not much he could do when he learned the building he had owned for more than a decade had burned except to go eat breakfast and call his insurance company.
"Ay caramba!" he repeated, investigating the pet store's charred chew toys and T-shirts still hanging on the walls. "I feel so bad for her. She must be freaking out."
Blair had briefly visited the scene shortly after firefighters extinguished the blaze, according to bystanders, and had appeared shocked.
Emergency responders cleared the scene at 12:01 p.m. North Adams firefighters were expected to monitor the building until about midnight to watch for potential flare-ups.
Meranti said about 30 North Berkshire firefighters helped in the effort, including Clarksburg firefighters who stood by at the North Adams fire department while all of the city's firefighters converged on Eagle Street.
Williamstown's Rapid Interven- tion Team and Adams' air-supply truck also came to the city's aid. The city's police department and North Adams Ambulance Service respon- ded, and employees of the Berk- shire Gas company shut off the building's gas supply.
Article Launched: 01/22/2008 11:45:25 AM EST
NORTH ADAMS — A 7-inch leopard gecko and some fish survived a two-alarm fire in Tropical Gardens Pet Center at 17 Eagle St. Monday morning, but the rest of Terri Blair's animals perished in the blaze, including one parrot that had not been for sale, according to emergency responders.
The two-story fire scathed no humans, but Peter May, who owns the building, said he is afraid upstairs tenants Blair and William Cartwright, who ran the pet store, might not ever return.
"This business was her livelihood," May said of Blair as he shivered across the street from the pale aqua-colored storefront in single-digit temperatures just after 10:30 a.m. "I think that parrot she had was her best friend."
Fire Director Stephen Meranti said authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire, which ignited some time before 9 a.m. in the rear of the first floor and shot upwards through the walls to an attic space. He said the fire is not considered suspicious.
Firefighters exftinguished the blaze in about 45 minutes, after they arrived at 9:02 in response to a 911 call from a pedestrian who heard the building's fire alarm sounding, Meranti said.
"It was not your normal building layout," Meranti said. "It was difficult to get up into those spaces, and there was a lot of electronics equipment on the second floor that made it very difficult to get to where the fire was."
Firefighters, blinded by smoke and working in 8-degree weather, used thermal imag- ing machines to detect flames hidden in voids in an exterior wall and in the space between the second floor ceiling and the roof. Others vented the building by cutting a hole through the roof and through an unexpected sub-layer beneath it.
"The guys did a great job," Meranti said. "They saved the building and prevented the fire from spreading."
Smoke still crept into the surrounding buildings, however, and its smell lingered in the adjacent Bark n' Cat pet supply and gift store. Firefighters wrenched windows from the unoccupied building on Tropical Garden's other side to air the rooms. Hose water froze upon contact with the street's asphalt, posing an additional hazard for firefighters who waddled in stiff gear, the vapors of their breath filtering through their stocking face masks.
Melissa Wilkinson, the city's animal control officer, who responded on her day off, said many birds and fish, a handful of reptiles and about 20 small animals, including gerbils, died as a result of extremely hot temperatures and smoke. She said the surviving tropical fish might still fall ill or die as a result of the heat fluctuation. Emergency responders filled a 20-inch cage with corpses and sat it on the sidewalk, covering it with a blue tarp.
Meranti said the building is salvageable.
"The worst damage is to the roof area and second floor," he said. "It needs quite a bit of work. The first floor needs to be gutted."
The damage estimate was $125,000 to the building and $50,000 to its contents.May said there was not much he could do when he learned the building he had owned for more than a decade had burned except to go eat breakfast and call his insurance company.
"Ay caramba!" he repeated, investigating the pet store's charred chew toys and T-shirts still hanging on the walls. "I feel so bad for her. She must be freaking out."
Blair had briefly visited the scene shortly after firefighters extinguished the blaze, according to bystanders, and had appeared shocked.
Emergency responders cleared the scene at 12:01 p.m. North Adams firefighters were expected to monitor the building until about midnight to watch for potential flare-ups.
Meranti said about 30 North Berkshire firefighters helped in the effort, including Clarksburg firefighters who stood by at the North Adams fire department while all of the city's firefighters converged on Eagle Street.
Williamstown's Rapid Interven- tion Team and Adams' air-supply truck also came to the city's aid. The city's police department and North Adams Ambulance Service respon- ded, and employees of the Berk- shire Gas company shut off the building's gas supply.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Village Ambulance gets brand new ride
By Scott Stafford, New England Newspapers
Article Launched: 01/11/2008 11:22:30 AM EST
Click photo to enlargeBert Miller, general manager of Village Ambulance Service, adjusts the two-way radio in the...«1»Friday, January 11
WILLIAMSTOWN — There's a cherry new ride cruising the Northern Berkshire byways, and it's got all the new bells and whistles.
And sirens.
The Village Ambulance Service, based in Williamstown, took delivery of a 2007 McCoy Miller ambulance on a Ford truck chassis powered by a Ford diesel engine about three weeks ago. It cost $110,000.
In announcing the arrival of the new ambulance, VAS also kicked off its membership drive to raise money for the service's capital needs, which includes vehicle replacement and new equipment purchases.
VAS works with a five-year replacement plan for its ambulances, according to Albert Miller, VAS general manager.
Miller's late father, Everett "Bus" Hopkins Miller, ran the preceding Williamstown ambulance company, Hopkins Ambulance, until Village opened in 1982.
The annual membership drive recruits folks to contribute money to the service, and in turn become members of the nonprofit corporation and the right to attend the annual membership meeting.
With 25 employees and four emergency response crews, Village Ambulance Service is up to roughly 2,300 calls annually, and has been absorbing a 5 to 10
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percent annual increase in the number of calls. The service covers calls 24 hours a day in Williamstown, New Ashford, Hancock, and in Pownal, Vt., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It is also the primary provider of emergency medical transport at Jiminy Peak.
"During a winter like this one, they'll probably make about 100 calls out here," said Jack Filiault, chief operating officer at Jiminy Peak and member of the Village Ambulance Service's board of directors. "It averages out to about one a day, but on a busy Saturday, they could be out here for two or three calls."
He noted that Jiminy Peak is a significant financial backer of the ambulance service.
"They are Jiminy Peak's favorite nonprofit organization," Filiault said. VAS has been the primary provider at Jiminy Peak since the service was founded in 1982.
"This a highly professional group," said Williamstown Police Chief Kyle Johnson. "They are certainly an asset to Northern Berkshire County."
He noted that the police and ambulance service work together several times each month, mostly on car accidents involving injuries.
"When we do work together, it's a good fit," Johnson said. "Everybody knows everybody else — it just works well."
Miller said with the new vehicle, they now run three ambulances — a 2003, a 2006 and the 2007 model. The plan is to trade in the 2003 model later this year.
"We do the membership drive every year, and it raises enough to pay about 20 percent of our fixed costs," Miller said.
The annual operatng budget is roughly $700,000, Miller noted. He added that last year's membership drive raised $65,000.
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