Kitchen fire displaces family of five

A faulty electrical outlet is to blame for a fire in the kitchen of 233 Dewey Ave on Monday night. A mother was putting her three children to bed upstairs when she smelled smoke and heard smoke alarms sounding. She immediately got her kids safely outside and called 911. A full assignment response, led by Deputy Chief Mark Cancilla, was on scene within minutes to make entry and quickly put out the fire. Moderate fire damage was visible in the kitchen with moderate smoke damage throughout the residence. The American Red Cross was on scene to provide shelter for the family. Fire investigators as well as the city Wiring Inspector were on scene and determined the cause to be that of a faulty electrical outlet along the kitchen countertop.

Five Alarm fire heavily damages historic Elmwood Estates

On Saturday, May 14th at approximately 12:36 P.M., a full assignment was dispatched for a reported fire in a partition wall at 151-153 Bartlett Avenue. This 22 unit, three story apartment building was originally built in 1853, and was long called "Elmwood." The mansion was home to two generations of the Learned family for over eighty years, Miss Halls School, an Inn and now apartments. With this long history came extensive renovations to the 125ft X 100ft building, which would eventually severely hamper firefighters efforts to bring this fire under control. First arriving company Engine 3, led by Captian Terrance Andrus, found a smoke condition throughout the building and alarms sounding within, but no visible fire. Several lines were advanced into the buildings first and second floor and eventually the basement to extinguish fire above a water heater. Car 2, Engine 6, Engine 1 and Tower One were also part of the first alarm. Once firefighters made it to the second floor and began opening walls, it quickly became aparent the type of old construction and large void spaces they were dealing with. Fire was spreading quickly, upward and outward in all directions, eventually overtaking the entire attic space. Command immediately struck a second alarm.
All interior operations were switched to defensive when Officers discovered the extent of the fires progress and that there was not enough manpower to safely fight the fire from inside. Command called for a General Alarm a short time later due to the size of the building and the amount of manpower and resources that would be needed to successfully mitigate this fast spreading fire. Engines 5 and 2 arrived on the second alarm and eventually Truck 2, Squad 3 and apparatus and manpower from Dalton, Lanesboro, and Hinsdale. Lenox, Cheshire, Adams and Richmond Fire Departments manned stations with PFD members throughout the City throughout. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services responded with their Incident Support Unit, well as personnel from MEMA, The Berkshire County Sheriffs Department and the local American Red Cross.

The fire was fought for over seven hours before being completely extinguished. A total of 45 residents were displaced from the fire, all given aid from the Red Cross and the property owner Cavalier Management. No injuries were reported to any residents or fire personnel. Fire Investigators completed a full investigation into the cause and origin of the blaze, determined to be from overheated electrical wiring.

Arson fire quickly spreads throughout multi-family building

On May 5th, 2011 at 1:06 A.M., firefighters were dispatched for a report of a fire in the street at 52-54 Cherry St. Before leaving their stations, Fire Alarm advised all responding companies this was in fact a structure fire with numerous calls coming in. First arriving company Engine 2, led by FF Kurt Johnson, initiated an interior attack of the fire, stretching a line into the center stairwell leading to the second floor. Heavy fire could be seen coming from walls on both sides of the stairs as well as the second floor. Despite a valiant effort by fire crews to stop the spread of fire throughout the balloon-framed house, all units were ordered out of the building when fire began venting out of the attic on all sides. All occupants were confirmed to be safely out of the building as fire began attacking the underside of the roof, eventually collapsing. Two large apartment buildings to the north and east of the fire building were protected with master streams while Tower 1 and Truck 2 began aerial master stream operations. Several ground monitors were also put into operation to eventually bring the fire under control. WMECO and Berkshire Gas were on scene to control utilities and the American Red Cross responded to assist the four families displaced from the fire, fifteen civilians in all. One firefighter suffered a minor leg injury and no civilians were injured. Fire Investigators found the cause of the fire to be intentional and the investigation is ongoing.

A Group firefighters fight fully involved garage fire

Firefighters assigned to A group responded to a report of possible structure fire at 17 Grant St at 11:54 P.M. last night. First arriving unit Engine 5, led by Lt. John Jackson, found a unattached garage fully involved with fire. Firefighters were able to make quick work of the blaze with initial attack lines and keep the fire from threatening any nearby buildings. All the contents inside were destroyed, including two motorcycles, two lawnmowers and a snowblower. The cause of the fire was determined to be from careless disposal of ashes near a brush pile alongside the garage. No injuries were reported.