Two Pittsfield Fires in One Night Cause Damage, No Injuries
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Fire Department's investigative unit is trying to pinpoint the cause of two fires that caused damage but resulted in no injuries.
The incidents, which occurred on Holmes Road and Scammell Avenue, were less than eight hours apart.
The first blaze at 176 Holmes Road happened around 4:25 p.m. Friday when an exterior pool shed was reported to be on fire and threatening the main house.
Three engines and a department car and truck were dispatched to the location. Upon their arrival, they saw a 1 1/2-story masonry and wood-frame structure being exposed to high heat and flames coming from the pool shed in the back of the house.
There was "heavy fire" in the area of the pool shed, according the report by Deputy Chief Matthew D. Noyes, and a hose was stretched to the exterior back corner of the home to extinguish the flames and cool down the exposures. The fire was out in about 10 minutes.
Two engines entered the home ad secured the electrical panel and checked for any fire inside; there was none reported. They also placed three ladders on the home to remove vinyl siding from the second-floor dormer.
Police directed traffic on the scene, as it is on the busy intersection of Williams Street and Holmes Road.
The shed, which contained a pool pump and supplies was "totally destroyed" according to the report, and the exterior sustained minor damage on the back left side of the home.
Around 12:17 a.m., Saturday, four engines and a department car and truck responded to a reported structure fire at 63 Scammell Ave. When they arrived, there was heavy fire showing on the left side of the home and it was engulfing an attic window on the same side.
Firefighters alerted the occupant that her house was on fire and she quickly left the home, stating that she was alone.
There was a live and energized electric service wire coming from the street down in the front yard that had already burned through and broke off the house above the meter socket, Noyes reported, and the wire was arcing on the ground.
The crew quickly extinguished the fire that was creeping up the outside of the home and then stretched the hose line through the front door to make their way to the attic stairway where a large volume of fire was found at the top of the stairs.
Another engine pulled a backup line to assist in addressing the internal fire to protect the way out while the truck crew ventilated the gable end of the left side of the house.
An RIT (rapid intervention team) was assigned to another engine to protect working crews at the scene if needed.
All crews on the scene reportedly engaged in overhaul operations.
The front left corner of the first floor had severe fire damage as well as the front left eaves and the attic area. In addition, there was significant smoke and water damage throughout the house.
Both fires resulted in no reported civilian or firefighter injuries and Noyes was the officer in charge of the two incidents.
Tags: structure fire,
