Firefighters were staged in the Sons of Italy parking lot Wednesday morning. Once hotspots are eliminated, they plan to vacate the scene.It was all hands on deck Tuesday with multiple fire departments responding to the blaze. As of Wednesday morning things have calmed down.
Mayor Thomas Bernard and Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre held a press briefing Wednesday Morning.
Update: The fire was declared out at 10 a.m. on Wednesday almost exactly 24 hours after it was reported Tuesday.
It took dozens of firefighters from as far away as Orange and Northampton to aid in bringing the massive blaze under control. By noon, all units had been released and North Adams firefighters were cleaning up tools and equipment.
"As of 10 o'clock this morning, we concluded firefighting operations. All known hotspots have been extinguished. We've turned the property back over to the owners, Apkin," said Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre. "Now we're conducting cleanup operations hitting all of our equipment placed back into service and decon from all the dirt and mud and the contamination that were on scene."
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters hope to vacate George Apkin & Sons scrapyard Wednesday afternoon as operations wind down.
North Adams Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre and Mayor Thomas Bernard provided an update early Wednesday morning in the Sons of Italy parking lot, and Bernard said although the firefight is ongoing, firefighters have entered into a new operational period and hope to have the fire completely managed by this afternoon.
"This is an ongoing firefighting operation, and the fire is largely contained," Bernard said. "Firefighters are continuing to identify hotspots with the help of machine operators at Apkin's who are breaking up the piles."
Dozens of firefighters spent Tuesday battling a raging fire that broke out in the scrapyard when a spark ignited gasoline still in a vehicle being cut up for scrap.
Black smoke could be seen throughout the downtown as fires burned in the 100-foot long pile of automotive debris.
Bernard reiterated that overnight air quality monitoring showed that the air still poses no health risk.
"I think the most important thing is that, overnight, air quality monitoring continues to show that there are no significant issues," he said. "In fact, there are no significant issues whatsoever with air quality."
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, the state Department of Environmental Protection's air quality monitoring team and state Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division responded Tuesday to test the toxicity of the fumes from the junkyard fire. Air monitors were set up at various points throughout the city.
Tuesday, residents and businesses were asked to close their windows, close HVAC systems, shut off air conditioners, and stay indoors while the air quality was initially tested.
Lefebvre said the fire is waning and firefighters will continue to use thermal imaging to locate hotspots within the scrap.
"We use a thermal imager to monitor the pile that is on fire," he said. "Once they reveal that the temperatures are safe and they will not rekindle, that is when we make that determination."
He said once firefighters completely eliminate these small fires they can shut the operation down.
"Once those fires have been eliminated it should just be clean up and mop up," he said. "We should be out of here around this afternoon i expect."
Lefebvre said the State Fire Marshall has concluded their investigation, and the incident has been ruled as an industrial accident.
"It is pretty cut and dry," he said. "From here we just have to clean up and talk to the owner about how we can prevent this from happening again."
Lefebvre said he did not have another briefing scheduled. He said he may hold one the operation has concluded.
The city received support from local fire companies including Adams, Adams Fire Wardens, Clarksburg, Florida, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lee, Otis, Peru, Richmond, Sheffield, Stamford, Vt., Williamstown and Windsor. Arriving late Tuesday were Amherst, Orange, South Hadley and Westhampton.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Navigators Hand SteepleCats Sixth Straight Loss
By Ben McDonoughFor iBerkshires.com
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Shore Navigators capitalized on aggressive baserunning and timely hitting Friday night, defeating the North Adams SteepleCats 13-4 at Joe Wolfe Field and dropping the Cats to 0-6 on the young NECBL season.
The Navigators struck first in the opening inning against North Adams starter Garrett Gates. Michael Brown opened the game by reaching after being hit by a pitch before Hunter Kingsbury followed with an infield single. After a double steal moved both runners into scoring position, Gates recorded his first strikeout of the season by retiring Jay Slater. North Shore quickly responded, however, as Grant Hunter lined a two-run double into the gap to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
North Adams threatened in the bottom of the first. Bobby Stang singled and stole second while Evan Meier worked a walk, but North Shore starter John Hegarty escaped the inning without allowing a run.
Gates settled in during the second inning, striking out Luke Johnson and working around a two-out double by Tyler Shulman to post a scoreless frame. He added two more strikeouts in the third, but Slater connected for a solo home run over the left-field fence to extend the Navigators' lead to 3-0. Gates recovered by picking off Simmi Whitehill after a single and later struck out Hunter to end the inning.
The SteepleCats broke through in the bottom of the third. Alex Barrist reached base and advanced into scoring position on a throwing error before Nelphie Lopez worked a walk. A wild pitch moved both runners up, and after Evan Meier battled back from a 1-2 count to draw another walk, Tony Woodie delivered North Adams' biggest hit of the night. His two-run ground-rule double brought home Barrist and Lopez, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
North Shore answered immediately in the fourth. After Steven Sams entered in relief, the Navigators used a combination of walks, stolen bases, wild pitches and defensive miscues to plate three runs and stretch the lead to 6-2.
The game began to slip away in the fifth. Grant Hunter opened the inning with a single before the Navigators loaded the bases. Daniel Leikus delivered a bases-clearing double to right field, helping North Shore push four more runs across the plate. Jake Foster eventually entered to stop the rally, but the damage had been done as the Navigators moved comfortably in front.
On Friday, June 12, Matthew Parker will be arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court for an incident that occurred on Wednesday evening, June 10, into the early morning of Thursday, June 11. click for more
The upper section of Houghton Street was blocked off for hours on Wednesday night as authorities sought to deal with an individual reportedly having a mental health issue.
click for more
.JPG)
