Chief Charles Burger
37 State Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
For Immediate Release
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Great Barrington Fire Department Extinguishes Fire at Abandoned Mill Building
GREAT BARRINGTON – Chief Charles Burger reports that the Great Barrington Fire Department extinguished a fire at an abandoned mill building this afternoon, the second fire this week caused by embers igniting during dry weather.
Just after noon, the Great Barrington Fire Department was dispatched for a roof fire behind the Housatonic Fire Station (Great Barrington Station 2).
Crews quickly confirmed that the roof of the abandoned Power House Mill — a 200-foot by 100-foot masonry building with 50-foot ceilings that’s part of the Monument Mills complex — was on fire. The building is located at 174 Front St.
Firefighters arrived on scene within minutes and began attacking the fire. The department’s 100-foot tower ladder was needed to access the fire due to the height of the building.
The fire was quickly brought under control and contained to the roof of half the structure, and crews cleared the scene by 2:30 p.m. The Stockbridge Fire Department assisted on scene, the Lenox Fire Department sent a Rapid Intervention Team and the Sheffield Fire Department provided station coverage.
An investigation by the Great Barrington Fire Department indicated that the owner of the Power House Mill was burning brush about 75 feet from the building and the embers caught the building’s roof on fire.
Today’s fire is the second that occurred in Great Barrington this week. At noon on Monday, April 10, Great Barrington Fire responded to a porch fire at 18 Sumner St. It was contained to the porch and the house remained inhabitable. An investigation determined that the fire began from a cigarette disposed of in the mulch next to the porch.
“Is it extremely important that community members remember to properly dispose of smoking material and monitor brush fires, especially as we head into warmer, dryer weather,” Chief Burger said. “As we’ve seen this week, anything with embers can easily start a fire.”
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