Dolores Catania‘s description of the fire at the Berkshire house the female Real Housewives of New Jersey cast members planned to stay was a little off. The fire didn’t affect the luxe home, but its unattached garage.
Deets on the cancelled RHONJ trip:
On October 20, 2023, the BerkshireEagle.com reported, “A fully engulfed garage burns on Monday night at a former Airbnb property off Long Island Pond Road. The rental property is also for sale, and has a history of noise complaints from neighbors about large events. In Great Barrington, a fire destroyed a wooden garage at a sprawling property that is listed for sale.”
Thanfully, according to the town’s fire department, “There were no injuries.” Unfortunately, “The garage is a total loss, and several cars parked outside sustained heat damage. Firefighters received the call at 9:22pm and arrived to find the building fully engulfed in flames. An initial investigation indicates that the fire was not intentionally set, but it is still unclear how it began.”
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The house Dolo rented before the fire:
@FaceReality16‘s photo provides perspective on the main house (and the guest house you can see on the right of the home) and its distance from the garage.
Here’s a photo of the guest house that Teresa Giudice and Jennifer Aydin were planning to stay in since the cast is unable to do their jobs professionally and film together.
An Om [Omen]:
“The fire follows a difficult history at the 120-square acre property. For nine years, the owners of 250 Long Pond Road had rented it out for large parties. This irritated the neighbors and let to at least one cease and desist order from the town.”
According to BerkshireEagle.com, the owner, Kenneth Alpart, said he and his wife were “on the brink of foreclosure.” They “turned to renting it for events to offset the then-$80,000 annual property tax bill as well as the $20,000 in insurance costs. The listing no longer appears on Airbnb’s website. Company spokesperson Aaron Swor confirmed that “This incident did not involve Airbnb.”
Bravo TV fans react:
- typical exaggeration by a housewife. 🙄 the truth would’ve been just as ‘dramatic’
- Perhaps it was a convenient reason to cancel a trip that maybe someone didn’t want to attend
- hey probably still were unable to rent due to fumes
- DeeeLO! So dramatic 🎭 😂😂
