Adams firefighters were helped by fire departments from Cheshire and Clarksburg.
Update: 9:47 p.m., minor rewrites, April 17, 2012.
ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters battled a blaze at 3 Baskin Lane that was reported shortly before 6 p.m. Clarksburg and Cheshire fire departments also responded.
Fire Chief Paul Goyette said the fire started in the first-floor apartment but the cause was not yet determined. It was called in around 6 p.m.
"We're on more of a defensive mode, which means we're working the fire mostly from the outside," Goyette, as firefighters contained the blaze at about 7:30 p.m. "We're slowly making our way back inside so we can go back on offensive."
Goyette said the fire was showing from the eaves of the apartment house when the Fire Department arrived. Firefighters initiated a two-prong attack in the first floor and on the outside but there were concerns for firefighters' safety because the roof was buckling.
By 7 p.m., the middle section of the roof had collapsed. The windy conditions, however, turned out to be beneficial by aiding in ventilation.
He said an older gentleman was assisted from the building before firefighters arrived and taken to the hospital. His name and condition were not yet known.
The building is currently uninhabitable and all utilities have been shut off. It was not clear how many occupants are affected by the fire. The property is listed in the Northern Berkshire Registry of Deeds as being owned by Mark A. Kurpiel.
No firefighters had been injured at publication time. Cheshire Fire Department responded with its rapid intervention team and Clarksburg responded with manpower. North Adams stood by at the station and North Adams Ambulance Service joined Adams Ambulance at the scene.
We were supposed to drill on Lime Street tonight but obviously that didn't happen," said Goyette. "This is what we were going to do ... we were going to do a structure fire."
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A North Adams teenager was arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court on Monday for allegedly stealing a school bus on Sunday.
Brandone Bolte, 17, was pleaded not guilty to single counts of larceny of a motor vehicle and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, according to the North Adams Transcript.
Adams Police say the Dufour bus was taken from Adams on Sunday and driven to Richmond. Bolte was pulled over and arrested Sunday evening and held at the Adams Police Station until Monday's arraigment.
The larceny charge carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison or 2 1/2 in jail, depending on if the larceny is charged as a felony.
Operating a school bus requires a Commercial Driver's License, as well as passenger and school bus endorsement, and a School Bus Driver Certificate from the Department of Public Utilities, according to the state Registry of Motor Vehicles.
ADAMS, Mass. — Emergency responders spent nearly three hours taking a hiker off Mount Greylock early Monday evening after the individual had an allergic reaction.
Adams Police, Forest Wardens and Fire Department responded to the emergency call at 5:16 p.m. for two hikers on the Bellows Pipe Trail, which runs partway along the Thunderbolt Ski Run above Gould Road. The five-mile trail is considered moderate to strenuous.
Police Sgt. Rick Tarsa said one of the hikers had an allergic reaction to some trail mix and was removed from the trail by four wheelers and taken to North Adams Regional Hospital. The hiker, "who was doing extremely well," said Tarsa, was en route to the hospital shortly after 8 p.m.
A LifeFlight from Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center had been called but was canceled.
ADAMS, Mass. — A local man was stabbed outside Wojo's Bar on Spring Street early Saturday morning.
Kevin Potter of Willow Street was taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield by Adams Ambulance after police responded to a report of an altercation in front of the bar at about 1:52 a.m. Potter, 45, was listed in stable condition earlier this evening, according to police.
Martin T. Parks, 21, of Prospect Street, Dalton, was arrested in connection with the incident. He has been charged with assualt and battery with a dangerous weapon and is being held on $20,000 bail. Parks will be arraigned Monday in Northern Berkshire Superior Court.
The case is still under investigation by Adams Police Department.
Adams firefighters return to the station on Sunday after a report of a child in the river proved false.
ADAMS, Mass. — The report of a child falling into the Hoosic River on Sunday afternoon turned out to be false, but not before some 60 emergency responders, including a dive team, spent more than an hour scouring a section of the river.
Fire Chief Paul Goyette said another youngster had made the report, claiming a child had fallen in near the Grove Street area, at about 3:10 p.m. Further interviews with the child by Police Chief Donald Poirot and police officers determined the incident had never occurred.
Still, Goyette said, "we had to take it as a credible report until proven differently." He had watch teams set up every quarter mile downstream along the river, which has been higher and running swifter than normal because of the recent heavy rains.
"We had teams with ropes and personal flotation devices, life vests, as well as water suits," said the chief. "Because of the potential scope we called in the Berkshire County Dive Team."
In addition to the dive team, Adams Police and Adams Ambulance Service, Hinsdale, Cheshire and North Adams fire departments were involved, as were North Adams Police and Ambulance Service.
Adams firefighters donned wetsuits and went into the water at Commercial Street; North Adams set up on the bridge at Hodges Cross Road and sent searchers up river.
Berkshire County Rope Rescue was called to standby for a possible swift water rescue.
The incident was cleared at 4:30. While no rescue was necessary, it did work as a drill.
North Adams units set up downstream to help in the search.
"The coordination of various agencies went well; the cooperation of various agencies went well," said Goyette. "We had our bases covered."
However, there was some concern over bystanders who tried to join in the search. While their efforts were appreciated, Goyette said it was better to leave such situations to those best trained in emergency response. Well meaning civilians could put not only themselves in danger but emergency responders.
Safety for all is paramount, he said, especially considering it was Sept. 11. "We're all going home; everyone is accounted for."
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