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EGREMONT, MA - The historic Egremont Inn, built in 1780, was destroyed by fire on December 11, 2009.

Egremont firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the inn shortly before 5:00 a.m. and found heavy fire in the B side. An interior attack was mounted during which the first due crews believed they had knocked down the flames only to have them reappear shortly thereafter. Mutual aid was called early on from five Southern Berkshire towns, Canaan, CT, Copake and Hillsdale, NY.

On the arrival, Great Barrington crews attempted another interior attack, managing to make the stairs to the second floor only to have the lead member lose a tool through the floor. Crews were ordered out of the building and tactics were to changed to defensive mode.

Egremont Engine 4 put its deck gun and portable master streams to work on the A/B corner while Great Barrington Ladder 1 was positioned on the A side raised its basket and went to work with its master stream. Canaan, CT Ladder 1 was able to set up in the C/D side parking lot of the building and it too when to work with a master stream, they were joined later in the fire by Tower 32 of Hudson, NY which set up in the D side parking lot and fully extended their tower over the pool to reach the fire building. Crews from Sheffield, Monterey, and Hillsdale, NY provided hand line crews. Mutual aid companies from near and far set up water supply from nearby Hubbard Brook. After the fire Egremont Lieutenant Jeremy Van Deusen estimated that 4.3 million gallons of water were used on blaze.

The volume of resources sent to this incident was amazing. The Egremont Auxiliary, Red Cross and Alford Fire Rehab Truck and Sheffield Emergency Management, provided initial rehabilitation services to the firefighters working in below freezing temperatures. The local and state police controlled traffic, later supported by message board from the Massachusetts Highway Department. Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS) responded with Field Communications Unit 50 that responded from Pittsfield, the Incident Support Unit responded from Easthampton and the Incident Rehabilitation Unit traveled 130 miles to the scene from the fire academy in Stow.

Area firefighters weren’t sure what to make of the rehabilitation unit at first, but once the word spread that it was warm inside and the soup was hot it became quickly a popular respite location. The staff members from the DFS were welcoming and interesting to talk with as the crews from three states rotated through their assignments.

The Egremont Inn was destroyed. An excavator had to be called to pick apart the remains of the structure to allow firefighters to access the remaining hots pots. Several emotional scenes were played out by the residents, employees and buildings owners. The extreme loss to the community comes in many forms; historically, socially and economically.

Investigators from the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office were on the scene and the cause remains under investigation.

At least one firefighter went to the hospital with smoke related illness. Icy conditions made slipping and falling almost inevitability despite the best efforts to have sand spread about the scene.

Southern Berkshire Ambulance stood by throughout the incident.