Home About Archives RSS Feed

Basement Blaze Forces Evacuation of North Adams Holiday Inn

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
image description
Firefighters discovered the blaze in a container in the boiler room in the hotel's basement.
image description
image description
image description
image description
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Holiday Inn had to be evacuated around midnight on Monday after a fire in the boiler room sent smoke through the basement and into the first floor. 
 
The report of smoke in the building was reported shortly before midnight, right after firefighters finished responding to an alarm that went off at 85 Main St. (A number of automatic alarms have been triggered by the annual hydrant flushing over the past week or so.)
 
Fire Director Stephen Meranti said firefighters searched through the basement area and found the fire in a type of plastic trash container in the boiler room. 
 
"There was a lot of smoke in the basement, not much heat, but because we had so many people in the building we made an all-call," he said. Two shifts were dealing with smoke at the hotel while a third shift was covering the station, right across the street. 
 
Firefighters were able to snuff the blaze pretty quickly and were using fans to drive out the smoke. 
 
"The basement had the heaviest smoke, there was some light smoke on the first floor," Meranti said. "The upper floors appear to be OK, the stairwells are closed ... The stairwell doors automatically close so the smoke didn't get up to that point."
 
One guest said he'd come down from the fifth floor and could smell the smoke. It smelled like burning trash or plastic, he said. 
 
Firefighters accessed the basement from an exterior stairwell on the west side, near the Hadley Overpass, and worked their way through the pool area to the boiler room. 
 
"It was on fire when they opened the door. ... there was a lot of smoke coming through," Meranti said, adding a sprinkler head in the boiler room did go off, but not until firefighters were already in the room. 
 
The cause had not yet been determined early Tuesday morning. Meranti said they were focused on clearing the smoke and testing for carbon dioxide before letting guests back into the building. The health and building inspectors were also called to the scene. 
 
However, the area where the fire started was not open to the public, he said. "It was a secured area."
 
It was not clear how many guests were staying in the 90-room hotel but close to three dozen appeared to be outside. The former Sleepy's mattress store was opened for guests to wait but many were standing in the street. It was a mild night with temperatures in the high 50s. 
 
North Adams Ambulance Service had an ambulance at the scene and was overseeing access to the store. American Legion Drive was closed between Main and Summer streets to keep it clear for fire trucks.
 
"It was a quick knockdown, the guys did a good job knocking it down quick and it didn't spread to any other areas," Meranti said. 
     

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
Adams Theater Recommended for 10-Year Tax Exemption
Pittsfield Tax Rate May Drop But Bills Rise
Pittsfield Sees 2nd Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Extension
Holiday Hours: Veterans Day
Berkshire Ajax Soccer Club Sets Tryouts
Q&A: Third Berkshires' Leigh Davis Talks Path Forward
Weekend Outlook: Shaker Village Day, Eagles Concert
Candlelight Tour at the Bidwell House Museum
Berkshire Organizations Awarded Stories Grants
Clark Art Lecture on Images of the Female Body in 20th Century Argentina

Police Logs

Pittsfield Police

North Adams

Crimewatch Links

North Adams CrimeWatch

Stamford/Clarksburg CrimeWatch

Pittsfield CrimeWatch

Emergency: 911
Adams 413-743-1212
Clarksburg 413-663-7795
Cheshire 413-743-1501
Dalton 413-684-0300
Great Barrington 413-528-0306
Lanesborough 413-443-4107
Lee 413-243-2100
Lenox 413-637-2346
North Adams 413-664-4944
Pittsfield 413-448-9700
Richmond 413-698-3315
Stockbridge 413-298-4179
Williamstown 413-458-5733
West Stockbridge 413-232-7938
State Police  
Cheshire Barracks
413-743-
4700
Lee Barracks 413-243-0600
Shaftsbury, Vt., Barracks 802-442-3263

 



Categories:
Adams (92)
Alford (0)
Becket (8)
Cheshire (23)
Clarksburg (41)
Dalton (6)
Egremont (2)
Florida (9)
Great Barrington (34)
Hancock (5)
Hinsdale (5)
Lanesborough (30)
Lee (14)
Lenox (11)
Monterey (0)
Mount Washington (1)
New Ashford (4)
New Marlborough (2)
North Adams (248)
Otis (2)
Peru (3)
Pittsfield (318)
Pownal (16)
Readsboro (17)
Richmond (10)
Sandisfield (5)
Savoy (6)
Sheffield (5)
Stamford (31)
State (1)
Stockbridge (6)
Tyringham (1)
Washington (1)
West Stockbridge (1)
Williamstown (79)
Windsor (3)
Archives:
Tags:
Fire Stabbing Robbery Rape Buglaries Missing Persons Accident Crime Watch Motorcycles Armed Robbery Hit & Run Fatal Structure Fire Drug Charges Mvi Motor Vehicle Accident Search Burglary Heroin Pedestrians Injuries Police Investigation Fraud Homicide Assault Drugs Assaults Search & Rescue Vehicle Larceny Break-ins Veremko Motor Vehicle Murder Shooting
Popular Entries:
Superior Court Briefs: March 14 - March 16
Fatal Accident Closes Route 8 in Adams
Superior Court Briefs: May 2 - May 6
Woman Pleads Guilty in Sandisfield Fatal Crash
Superior Court Briefs: March 28 - March 31
Pittsfield Woman Pleads Guilty in Husband's Slaying
Superior Court Briefs: May 18 - 19
Superior Court Briefs: March 23 - March 24
Superior Court Briefs: March 8 - March 11
New Ashford Crash Turns Fatal for Williamstown Man
Recent Entries:
State Police Bust $3M Illegal Pot Growing Operation in Savoy
First-Responders Searching for Lost Hiker on Mount Greylock
Pittsfield Driver Injured in Elm Street Accident
North Adams Police Investigate Possible Shooting Incident
Williamstown Police Looking into Cemetery Vandalism
Florida Woman Dies in Motorcycle Accident
Pittsfield Fire Responds to Kitchen Blaze
Juvenile Arrested in North Adams Shooting
North Adams Police Seeking Information on Shooting Incident
Pittsfield Police Seek Information on Sunday Night Shootings