Update (05182023 at 10 a.m.): Firefighters were on the scene Thursday morning monitoring the wreckage.

 

"Nothing new right now, obviously the fire is knocked down and we should be out of here shortly," Deputy Fire Chief Robert Patenaude said. "The fire marshal is here this morning."

 

An excavator was on the scene flipping through the wreckage so firefighters could make sure the fire is still out.

 

"We are just keeping it under control today. Right now we are just spreading it out to make sure it is completely out," he said. "The problem we had, why we had to bring in the excavator, four stories came down and you can't get down under the fire. So we have to come in, separate it all, and wet it down."

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"It's going to be a 'surround and drown,'" he said. "No interior fire attempt was made as the fire was too well involved before we got here."

 

The building had been condemned by the city and marked with red Xs "so we would not even have made an attempt at entering," Patenaude said. 

 

Firefighters pulled hoses up Morgan Avenue to reach the blaze and maneuvered the ladder truck under the electrical wires on State Street to reach over the trees and pour water onto the building. Morgan Avenue is a steep narrow street and the lot below the vacant structure heavily wooded. Firefighters also worked to contain any fire from spreading into the surrounding wooded area. 

 

Patenaude said there was some trouble in with water flow because all the hoses were pulling from the same water main. 

 

"But once we got it set up, we knocked it down and kept going anywhere," he said. "Other than that, no injuries. Everyone did a great job."

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey was at the scene, as was interim Police Chief Mark Bailey, Commissioner of Public Services Timothy Lescarbeau and Building Inspector William Meranti. Northern Berkshire EMS was also called and National Grid temporarily disconnected power to the area.

 

Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control around 12:30 a.m.  State Street was closed from the Hadley Overpass south. Patenaude said around 1 a.m. that it would still be a couple hours before the street could fully open.

 

Residents were evacuated from an apartment building at the corner of State and Morgan for about two hours; they were let back in once their power was turned back on.

 

"It was an abandoned house. There was power for the house," said Patenaude. "I would label it suspicious at this time."