Adams inferno displaces at least 10 residents

By Benning W. De La Mater, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Updated: 12/27/2008 03:00:52 AM EST
Slide Show of pictures of the First Street Fire by North Adams Transcript /Gillian Jones
Saturday, December 27
ADAMS — More than 50 volunteer firefighters worked in freezing temperatures under a night sky Friday battling a blaze that eventually consumed an apartment building on the eastern hill above town.

No one was hurt in the fire, but at least 10 residents — some children and senior citizens — were displaced, just 24 hours after many spent their day opening presents and reveling in Christmas fun inside their homes.

Adams Fire Chief Stephen Brown said when his department arrived on scene shortly after 6 p.m., firefighters encountered heavy smoke on the first floor of the 1920s-style apartment building on the corner of First and North streets.

They quickly evacuated the residents and began "an offensive."

"But we had several factors working against us," Brown said. "The fire got above us, and there's a common attic up there with a tin roof."

The fire spread to the second and third floors, forcing the firefighters to exit the building. Then the priority shifted to saving the apartment building next door, which sits just 3 feet away.

At least one apartment in the neighboring building suffered heat damage from the intense flames, which could be seen from downtown and along parts of Route 8.

Hundreds of residents walked up the steep streets to watch the blaze. Some snapped photos and recorded movies.

Firefighters from Savoy, Clarksburg, Hinsdale and Cheshire

The American Red Cross
assisted in the fight. Eventually, the fire consumed the building and collapsed the infrastructure.

Cindy White was at home next door when the fire broke out. She woke her husband, Dave, as firefighters were ushering residents out of the apartment complex.

"We looked out our window and that's when we saw it," she said. "There were kids that lived in there."

Brown estimated that between 10 and 15 residents were displaced. Red Cross volunteers arrived on the scene later in the night and assessed the situation.

The Holiday Inn in North Adams and Harrington's Restaurant & Inn in Adams offered rooms for the night to the displaced families.

To reach Benning W. De La Mater: bdelamater@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 496-6243.