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Blaze Damages Meadow Street Home

Staff reportsiBerkshires
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A second-floor fire heavily damaged a home at the north end of Meadow Street on Friday afternoon.

The blaze was called in shortly after 1 p.m. as a couch fire said Fire Director Stephen Meranti. He said the cause was under investigation.

The two-apartment home at 21 Meadow St. is listed as belonging to Lois M. Filiault.

Meranti, speaking shortly after the fire was brought under control, said he did not know who owned the building or how many people lived in it. "We're trying to locate them right now to see if they need help from the Red Cross."

A resident of the upstairs apartment was able to flee out the back door ahead of the flames, according to ambulance personnel who were first to arrive at the scene. No one was injured but firefighters were unable to rescue a dog that was on the second floor.

Flames were shooting out of an upstairs side window of the house when firefighters arrived and continued to lick at the eaves above it. The ladder truck was parked on the steep hill to give access to the roof.


Firefighters could be seen tossing burnt items out the the windows. The side and front windows were broken and blackened.
 
The power was shut off and a fire watch was planned for night.

Meranti said all off-duty firefighters were called in and the Adams Fire Department responded with its air truck. Clarksburg was called in to cover the station and finished pumping out a flooded basement that the North Adams department was working on.



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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Construction is underway to transform the former Harry's Supermarket into a restaurant

Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building. 

"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu. 

A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building. 

White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.  

He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns. 

Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot. 

A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use. 

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