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Saluting Lenox firefighters

For a moment pause and wonder what would’ve happened if a passerby, Jay Baver, had not seen smoke coming from the Curtis Hotel on the night of April 11, which could have become a conflagration.

Also, what if the firemen hadn’t been at the fire station for a meeting?

The Curtis block could be destroyed and many of its occupants could have suffered severe burns and possible death.

Today, we could be looking at a burned out structure along with possible deaths and injuries to many of the residents of housing for the elderly.

Thankfully, this is not the case.

However, like health insurance, fire insurance is there when needed but not planned.

The Curtis Hotel is an icon in the Village of Lenox. It is seen daily by residents and tourists alike.

The fire brought back many memories of the days it flourished as a hotel and later as a gathering spot for people. It had a lot of appeal.

Yet, memory brings us back to the days when it was closed and people were wondering who might take it over as a hotel or enlarged B&B.

There were several area people like John and Jane Fitzpatricks from Stockbridge who looked at the possibilities of owning the building. Yet it was the commonwealth who came to the rescue of Lenox to provide a place for the elderly along with a commercial area on the ground floor.

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Yet, there was a bit of luck with Mr. Baver noticing the smoke, running to the fire station to summon help and finding Fire Lt. Michael Lane at the station, who sounded the alarm before driving the fire truck across the street and putting a ladder to the second-floor window where the fire originated.

Officials believe the fire was set, but have not yet charged the resident with arson.

However, in the review of the fire that caused a lot of smoke damage to the building and forced residents to find temporary housing, the name Edward “Cap” Conklin raises to the level of being at the right place at the right time when he took a Lenox fire truck to Shadowbrook in Stockbridge in 1956, the scene of a major fire.

Cap was later named fire chief and was a longtime assessor for Lenox for 53 years.

His personality transcended many generations along with his memory of changes in property owners throughout his career. Outspoken in some circles, he was the behind the scenes person for many of the selectmen’s decisions when it came to capital expenses and putting the annual budget together.

Chief Conklin built a tight knit group of volunteer firemen that served north Lenox, Lenox Dale and the central fire department downtown.

According to the Shadowbrook Fire by F.X. Shea: “Perhaps this is as good a place as any to recapitulate the feats of Cap Conklin. He had been at the fire now about 20 minutes; and in that brief, action-filled period he had rescued six men who without him were surely [be] lost.”

Today, Kripalu occupies the building that was reconstructed after the fire.

In Cap’s memory is the Edward T. “Cap” Conklin Gallantry Award, which was awarded to members of the department for saving lives at the Curtis housing complex, according to Fire Chief Daniel Clifford.

They included: Fire Captain Jason Saunders, Lieutenants Daniel Piretti and Michael Zinchuk and Firefighter Christopher Prew.

The department’s Distinguished Service Award for Acts of Heroism was shared by Captain Robert Casucci and Lieutenant Michael Lane. They braved fire, smoke and heat at the Curtis.

Firefighter Stephen Coon also received a Distinguished Service Award for entering the second floor and third floors to search for trapped residents. He led 10-12 residents on the third floor to safety.

The Fire Chief’s Award for performing an act deemed significant and worthy of acknowledgment went to Firefighters Jeffrey Lynch and Daniel Sheehan, who manned the hoses to fight the fire before it could spread beyond the apartment where it was set.

Receiving the Chief’s Award for rescuing a fourth-floor resident trapped by smoke were Deputy Chief William Colvin and firefighter Matthew Lane.

Also cited were Firefighters Elio Casucci Jr., Matthew Wright and Stephen Quinn, who were presented with Chief’s Awards for helping residents to flee to safety.

Firefighters from surrounding towns helped contain the fire, which is estimated to have caused half a million dollars in damages.

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Posted by on May 9, 2013. Filed under Opinion,View from the Tower. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
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