Two Juveniles Arrested in Relation to Sullivan School Arson

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police have arrested two juveniles related to the fires set inside Sullivan School on Friday night. 

 

Police Director Michael Cozzaglio said the two juveniles were arrested on Monday afternoon but have not yet been arraigned. Their names are being withheld because of their ages. 

 

"These fires were intentionally set," Cozzaglio said. "It was pretty serious stuff and we wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible."

 

He said no further information could be released at this time. 

 

Firefighters were called to the vacant Sullivan School at about 8:12 p.m. on Friday and spent nearly two hours searching the multi-level school in heavy smoke and dousing a number of fires.

 

All off-duty firefighters were called in because of the amount of manpower needed to contain the building. Fire Director Stephen Meranti on Friday night had initially said three fires had been discovered but later updated that to multiple fires on more than one level. 

 

There were four fire extinguishers lined up at the front of the building when firefighters arrived.

 

The 51,000 square foot building has been empty for more than a year since the opening of Colegrove Park Elementary School but was being used for storage. It also still contains a lot of school materials and furnishings that were left behind. It was recently listed for sale by the city.

 

Cozzaglio said the investigation was lead by Officer Brad Vivori with assistance from the state police Arson Unit and other North Adams officers and investigative agencies. 

 

"It really was a team effort. Everyone's pitched in with this," he said, adding that officers pushed to find the suspects behind the fires both because of the seriousness of the crime and to "give our citizens peace of mind."