THE ENTIRE COUNTRY LOST A TREASURE FRIDAY MORNING when fire swept through the Egremont Inn located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The popular tavern and hotel had been in continuous operation for 230 years, pre-dating the American Revolution.
Berkshire Eagle / Garver photo
Egremont firefighters were called out shortly before 5 am Friday morning and found a large amount of fire on the first floor. After attempting to attack it inside, it was spreading too rapidly for safety’s sake and the Deputy Chief pull the crews out of the building.
WTEN-TV has this video report from the fire scene:
The town fire department utilized a nearby creek for the water supply, but they apparently did a good job getting the flow required to deluge the building.
The Egremont Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, but has been completely destroyed. This time of year it is open only for dinner, so nobody was staying there when the fire broke out. There was a fire alarm system that alerted the FD, but no suppression system was ever installed.
The Times Union reports:
“It looks like it’s a total loss, which is a very sad thing for the town,” said Town Clerk Peg Muskrat. “It was a beautiful old building and a central gathering place for the town, as well as the site of many weddings.”
The inn began as a tavern built along the old Albany-Hartford Turnpike in 1780 by Francis Haere, an Irish immigrant who fought in the Revolutionary War. It was used as a refuge for America troops during the Revolutionary War and later as a hospital for soldiers wounded during the Civil War.
The 18th-century tavern was expanded and renovated into a modern facility with 20 rooms and suites, with a popular restaurant that catered to a summer crowd who came for Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow performances.
The challenges presented by the size of the building, the extreme weather conditions, and the water supply generated five alarms bringing in department from thoughout the county as well as from New York and Connecticut.
The Berkshire Eagle has a recent report HERE.
Egremont Inn photo
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