Fire Chief John Pansecchi, in white, talks strategy on Wednesday.
ADAMS, Mass. — At least eight fire companies responded to a Wednesday morning a structure fire in the old MacDermid Graphics building.
Firefighters and responders from Cheshire, Dalton, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lee, Savoy, North Adams, Pittsfield, Williamstown. Hinsdale also sent its rehab bus and Northern Berkshire EMS was on the scene with its rehab trailer.
The fire was reported at about 7:30 a.m. and black smoke could be seen looming over the old mill building at 10 Harmony St. Harmony and Prospect streets were closed to traffic.
The Adams Police Department posted on Facebook that Hoosac Valley Elementary School and Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School classes were cancelled for Wednesday. The schools are located not far from the structure.
Their post also reads, "Children on the bus already for Hoosac Valley Elementary School will be brought to the middle school gym at Hoosac Valley High School."
"BArT was already in session and will be evacuating to the Adams Visitor Center."
Fire Chief John Pansecchi said firefighters are approaching the blaze by pouring water at it from every angle.
"We have a fire in the building, looks like we have a lot of fire in the building and we're trying to get to it," he said. "Places have already collapsed prior to the fire, place that have collapsed since the fire, so not a lot of activity inside the building."
The mill, the former W.R. Grace, is made up of a number two- and three-story structures covering about 236,749 square feet. The fire was located in a long building toward the back of the property that runs alongside the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. The roof was fully engulfed in flames and collapsed in on itself around by 8 a.m.
Trucks from Williamstown were being situated in the Russell Field parking lot and firefighters were trying to find a location where they could attack the blaze from the trail.
Pansecchi said the building is supposed to be vacant.
"I was working when the call came in," he said. "My guys did a great job getting set up putting some hose lines and being prepared and got some plans put together when I got here to extend that and that's what were looking at."
The cause of the blaze is unknown at this time but the state fire marshal was on the scene.
Pansecchi said firefighters are providing observations from the outside and the North Adams drone has been deployed to determine the extent of the blaze. The buildings are large and unsafe in most cases to enter.
"We're making good progress but we're not at a point I'd call it contained," he said. "There's already places that have caved in prior to this."
He's been joined by fire chiefs from the various departments, who have been aiding the attack from different fronts.
"It's a really big help [having them] because you've got so much going on fighting a fire you don't think of the other things," the Adams chief said. "They start making suggestions."
Some of the structures on the complex date to 1881, when Renfrew Manufacturing built to produce jacquard textiles. It was the last asset of the company, and its machines and inventory were stripped out in 1927.
The mill's had various owners and periods of vacancy over the last century, but was probably best known as W.R. Grace, a specialty chemical company that bought it as part of the acquisition of Dewey & Almy Chemical in the mid-1950s.
MacDermid took it over in 1999 but closed the plant three years later, putting 86 people out of work.
The property has been vacant since and was purchased by 10 Harmony Street LLC for $53,500 in 2019, according the online assessor's records. Principal of the LLC is listed as John D. Duquette Jr.
Staff writers and photographers Breanna Steele, Jack Guerino, Tammy Daniels and Marty Alvarez contributed to this article.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Cheshire to Interview Police Chief Candidate
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Select Board will interview the candidate for police chief at 3 p.m. Friday, leaving open the possibility of hiring him that day.
Adams Police Sgt. Matthew Wright is the only candidate brought forward so far to take over the chief's post. It's currently being filled by retired Chief Timothy Garner, who stepped in last year when his successor was charged with solicitation.
Wright has been with the Adams Police Department for 19 years, working as a reserve and temporary officer for three years and hired full time in 2010. He had applied for the interim police chief post in Adams last year but the town hired retired Lanesborough Police Chief Timothy Sorrell to prevent a void in the staffing.
Sorrell also stepped in to replace a chief who had been charged, this time with fraud. Adams is planning to start a search for a new chief.
Town meeting approved $110,000 toward a chief's salary.
Cheshire initially received seven applicants for its police chief position; two did not meet the minimum qualifications outlined in the job posting, and one candidate withdrew from the process. The remaining four went through the written process and two advanced to the assessment center. One of those candidates withdrew leaving Wright as the lone candidate.
Select Board Chair Michelle Francesconi explained the search consultants were very impressed with the remaining candidate, recommending he move forward to the final interview. The consultants sent the board 18 questions for the interview; board members will pick 12, with each member asking three questions and Francesconi asking the first and last. Board member Scott McWhirt is recusing himself from the interview as he had worked with Wright in the Adams Police Department prior to his retirement in 2016.
At the Select Board's previous meeting, Francesconi discussed having the Police Department alternate shifts to have someone covering the evening shift as a recent incident was left to State Police who were tied up at the time. The board voted to do that in the interim until a new police chief has started.
In other business, Flaherty Road will be one-way after residents' concerns are answered.
On Tuesday, the Select Board voted to make the road, a short, narrow residential street that connects at the start of Wells Road and the end of East Main Street, one way. There are a total of five residents on Flaherty.
Town Administrator Jennifer Morse said she was approached by a couple of the residents at the beginning of summer requesting a change because to safety concerns and had previously spoken about it at a Select Board meeting at the beginning of July.
Morse explained they had a meeting with all of the residents and all have agreed to the change. A couple of residents were in attendance to make comments, saying a one-way street would make the area safer because the bridge on Windsor Road restricts visibility.
"I think Flaherty Road should be a one-way. It's just not wide enough for two vehicles. Now, understand that plowing and emergency seems great to me, but make it one way. There's no room," said resident Bruce Richardson.
"I think the safety issue happens to be when you're traveling up, going from Main Street up to Windsor because of the way the bridges now coordinate, the road comes up and you kind of have to swing to the right a little bit, and you still can't see anyone coming down up to Notch Road area when they come down," said resident James Rose.
"And several of us have had some pretty close calls when you kind of get out, and you now know you have to kind of sneak out, and then sneak out, and then sneak out before you actually make the full turn, it has been especially, for me anyway, interesting when there's a motorcycle coming around because you won't see that motorcycle until that person is on top of you, and they can't see us either because of where the bridge and the road come and the road swings up it meets the bridge, and you can only see the far side, you can't see the closest. So that's a safety issue on our part," he said, noting it is what got the discussion on changing the road started.
Wilk-Chaffee joined two of her fellow Beautification Group members in an appearance before the Selectmen to update the elected officials on the non-profit's activities around town and explain its role in town.
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The overhaul of 21 Park St, is complete, with all 10 two-bedroom apartments nearly rented. There are also three units on the second floor available for rent that will be move-in ready in September. click for more
On Wednesday, the select board approved a framework for a candidate screening committee and heard a potential timeline for making a decision to appoint the next leader of the 18-officer department. click for more
As America celebrated its 250th anniversary, Adams looked toward the future by creating a time capsule to preserve pieces of the community for future generations.
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The fundraiser will be held at Turn Hall, 6 Turners Ave., beginning at 5 p.m. with a spaghetti dinner, followed by Santos' performance at 7:30 p.m. click for more
