Firefighters battle a blaze at a six-unit apartment building on Laurel Street yesterday in Lee, the first of two fires to break out in the town last night.
Caroline Bonnivier / Berkshire Eagle Staff
By Benning W. De La Mater, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 12/16/2007 04:25:36 AM EST
Click photo to enlargeFirefighters battle a blaze at a six-unit apartment building on Laurel Street yesterday in...«1»Sunday, December 16
LEE — Two separate fires just 1.5 miles apart broke out within 13 minutes of each other in town last night, forcing more than 40 firefighters from five departments to battle the blazes in 18-degree temperatures.
No one was injured in either fire, but two animals were killed. Fire officials had yet to determine what caused the fires as of press time, but state fire marshals were called in to investigate.
The first blaze broke out at 6 p.m. in a six-unit apartment building on Laurel Street (Route 20), adjacent to the Massachusetts State Police barracks. The second fire was reported at 6:13 p.m. at 130 Tamarack Ave.
No one was home at the time of the Laurel Street fire. Janna Delgado had planned to meet her boyfriend, Michael Newson, at the apartment for dinner. When she arrived, flames were shooting toward the trees, lighting up the sky. Newson was shopping at Price Chopper when Delgado called to tell him the news.
Newson, who has lived there since September, said the owner, Bob Holcomb, had just renovated the building — a light-yellow older home that had been turned into apartments — and that Holcomb's son was the only other tenant. A "For
Rent" sign was pushed into a snow-covered front lawn.
Cars were backed up for at least a mile to the north as police rerouted traffic on Route 20 at Cranwell and at the bottom of Laurel Street.
The owners of the Tamarack Avenue home, David and Trisha Sires, were not home at the time, but fire officials said a dog and cat were killed in the blaze.
Lee Assistant Fire Chief Ed North said when crews arrived at the fire, the hydrants were frozen, forcing firefighters to use water from a tanker.
"When we arrived, the fire was fully involved and the flames were spreading," he said. "We had tankers, so water was not an issue."
North said it appeared that the fire originated in the garage of the small Cape-style home.
It took several hours to contain both fires. Firefighters from Lee, Tyringham, Stockbridge, Lenox and Lenox Dale battled the blazes, which gutted both buildings. Tenants of both buildings planned to stay with families or friends last night.
North said it was "unusual" that two fires broke out at the same time. He said both South Lee and Lenox fire departments were celebrating their annual Christmas parties when the fires broke out.
"At least the wives are having fun," he said.
Eagle correspondent Dick Lindsay contributed to this story.
To reach Benning W. De La Mater: bdelamater@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 496-6243
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