NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters from around North County are battling a massive fire at a scrapyard off State Street.

 

The blaze at George Apkin & Sons was started by a battery sparking during the scrapping of a junk car into baling unit. It spread to a pile of cars and car parts 100 feet long and two stories tall. 

 

"Right now, it is considered a large-scale operation," said Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre during an update at 2 p.m. "We have multiple firefighters from all the surrounding areas."

 

The fire was called in at 10:10 a.m. as a motor vehicle fire with both North Adams and Clarksburg fire departments responding to the scene. Williamstown and Adams Forest Wardens were called in shortly afterward. Adams Fire was covering the North Adams station. 

 

Billowing black smoke could be seen across the city. Witnesses reported flames and the sounds of explosions.

 

Apkin's is at the end of Christopher Columbus Drive and situated between the railroad tracks to the east and the Hoosic River to the west. It accepts a wide variety of scrap materials and covers about 5 acres. 

 

Firefighters were working several sides of the blaze to bring it under control, including a tower truck with Clarksburg Fire in the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts parking lot shooting water over the railroad tracks toward the flames. Ashland Street is currently closed from Hoosac to Davenport Streets.

 

A smoky haze and the smell of burning materials settled over the downtown by noontime and officials have used the Code Red system several times asking residents to stay inside, keep their windows closed and not run their HVAC or air conditioning units. Mayor Thomas Bernard said this was being done out of caution and that a hazmat team was monitoring air quality at points throughout the city. Residents would be updated if there was any change. 

 

MountainOne and Greylock Federal Credit Union closed their offices on Main Street for the day and MCLA has evacuated the campus. There are reports that the smoky haze was also affecting the town of Adams and that the smell can be discerned as far away as Readsboro, Vt. An image sent from a camera at Burlingame Hill in Adams showed the large plume of smoke. 

 

"It is a large pile of scrap cars and parts that have been disassembled. [What is burning] is every material that is inside a vehicle — plastic, foam, oil, everything," Lefebvre said. "There is magnesium in there as well and magnesium is reactive to water so that's keeping things kind of hot."

 

He said an Apkin's employee was using equipment to pull the pile apart to get to the flames. There should not be any tires or fuel burning but, said the chief, it is a scrapyard and those materials may be in there. 

 

The fire at about 2 p.m. had been contained to the pile and much of the smoke — and smell — had lessened in the area. Lefebvre said it had been "significantly watered down" and he did not believe there was a risk of it spreading. However, Bernard noted it would be a "prolonged firefighting event" that would at least go into tomorrow. 

 

The fire chief said a task forces from Franklin and Hampden county would be coming in Tuesday night to help spell firefighters working the scene today.

 

A new mutual aid tanker task force was put into operation with tankers from Adams Forest Wardens, Clarksburg, Florida, Hinsdale, Lanesborough and Peru filling up at the hydrant outside Sarah T. Haskins School and shuttling water to a pool set up at the fireground. Williamstown had been invited to bring in its new tanker christened on Saturday but the truck is not yet operational.

 

"We don't have an adequate supply of water in that area," said Lefebvre. "The hydrants are working at this point but because of the location, we just need more water. So they set up a portable tank for us to draft out of and we are shuttling water from tankers into that tanker."

 

This is the second major blaze in North County this week after the largest wildland fire in the state in 20 years burned 947 acres on East Mountain last weekend. Lefebvre said many of the same fire crews are working at this fire. 

 

The next update is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.