Press Release  Fire in Sheffield claims 5 lives

Sheffield — Five people were killed Wednesday in an incident that involved a home fire in Sheffield, Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington announced. Massachusetts State Police and police agencies from Berkshire County and beyond were investigating the scene.

At approximately 7:50 a.m. Wednesday, a call for service came into the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office for an active structure fire at 1343 Home Road. Several fire and mutual aid agencies responded and extinguished the flames.  

A primary search revealed the presence of a deceased individual. A secondary search revealed four additional individuals who were deceased. Neither the names of the victims nor the causes of death were available for release on Wednesday.  

“This is an ongoing, extensive investigation with multiple local and state agencies, including the State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal and detectives from the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office,” said DA Harrington, who spoke at a news conference on Wednesday in Sheffield Town Hall.

Also responding to the scene of the fire on Wednesday were the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section, forensic scientists assigned to the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory, the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Sheffield and Great Barrington police, and fire department crews from Sheffield, Great Barrington, Monterey, Egremont, Richmond, New Marlborough, Canaan, Conn., and Norfolk, Conn.

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