Dozens of elderly residents forced out by Pittsfield fire

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - About 30 elderly residents of a Pittsfield apartment complex have been forced from their homes following a fire late Wednesday night caused by an overheated ceiling light ballast.

According to a Pittsfield Fire Department news release sent to 22News, the fire at Providence Court on East Street did not cause as much damage as the water after the sprinkler system was activated. The residents of the building were alerted to the fire by the building’s smoke detectors, and they got out safely.

The department says that there was a lot of water damage on the building’s third and fourth floors, and the power has been shut off to those areas. The damage from the fire itself, which actually started on the fifth floor, was not that extensive.

The Red Cross helped residents of the building with a place to stay overnight.