Firefighters attack a fire on Spring Street early this morning. [Photo by Sue Bush]
Williamstown - A Spring Street building sustained smoke, flame and water damage this morning and a town police officer is credited with discovering the blaze while out on patrol.
Subway Building Basement Fire
The building that housed a Subway sandwich shop was heavily damaged during the blaze, which was reported at about 3:52 a.m..
Police Officer Detected Fire
During an on-scene interview, Town Assistant Fire Chief Robert Briggs said that the fire was active in the building's basement and firefighters were inside the building attacking the flames. A town police officer discovered and reported the fire, Briggs said.
Town police Chief Kyle Johnson said that police Officer Joe Ross was patrolling the Water Street area when he smelled a strong smoke odor and investigated the odor's source. Once on Spring Street, Ross noticed smoke rolling from the Subway building and immediately called for the fire department.
Ross's actions probably kept the situation from becoming significantly worse, Johnson said.
"He smelled the smoke and he tracked it down," Johnson said. "This could have been a lot worse. Officer Ross actions most likely kept the fire contained to the one building."
Several fire trucks and yards of water-carrying hose lined Spring Street as acrid smoke poured from the building and smothered the street with a thick cloud-like canvas.
Firefighters were observed entering the building from the rear, which is adjacent to the Purple Pub, and ladders were propped against the building sides.
Town firefighters almost immediately called for assistance from the Pownal Protective Fire Association in Pownal, Vt., and a safety team from the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department was called to the scene. Members of the PPFA were at the fire scene and provided coverage at the town fire station. Stamford Volunteer Fire Department firefighters provided coverage for the Clarksburg fire department.
As of 6 a.m., firefighters remained on the scene of the fire.
Gas and electric company crews were called to the scene to cut power and gas service to the premises.
Investigators from the Office of the State Fire Marshal have been called to the scene. During an on-scene interview with Briggs, he said that at that time, there was no fire cause determined but he noted that firefighters were still battling the blaze.
As of 5:30 a.m., there were no reported firefighter injuries.
The Village Ambulance Service was at the fire scene.
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Williamstown Fin Comm Hears from Police Department, Library
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police Chief Michael Ziemba last week explained to the Finance Committee why an additional full-time officer needs to be added to the fiscal year 2027 budget.
The 13 officers in the Williamstown Police Department are insufficient to maintain the department's minimal threshold of two officers on patrol per shift without employing overtime and relying on the chief and the WPD's one detective to cover patrol shifts if an officer is sick or using personal time, Ziemba explained.
Some of that coverage was provided in the past by part-time officers, but that option was taken away by the commonwealth's 2020 police reform act.
"We lost two part-timers a couple of years ago," Ziemba told the Fin Comm. "They were part-time officers, but they also worked the desk. So between the desk and the cruiser shifts, they were working 40 hours a week, the two of them. We lost them to police reform.
"We have seen that we're struggling to cover shifts voluntarily now. We're starting to order people to cover time-off requests. … We don't have the flexibility when somebody goes out for a surgery or sickness or maternity leave to cover that without overtime. An additional position, I believe, would alleviate that."
Ziemba bolstered his case by benchmarking the force against like-sized communities in Berkshire County.
Adams, for example, has 19 full-time officers and handled 9,241 calls last year with a population just less than 8,000 and a coverage area of 23 square miles, Ziemba said. By comparison, Williamstown has 13 officers, handled 15,000 calls for service, has a population of about 8,000 (including staff and students at Williams College) and covers 46.9 square miles.
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Police Chief Michael Ziemba last week explained to the Finance Committee why an additional full-time officer needs to be added to the fiscal year 2027 budget. click for more
