Four Pets Lost in North Adams Fire
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| Hoses were run along Mass Ave. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A cat may be the cause of a fire that forced a woman to flee her home on Saturday night and lose four of her five pets.
The occupant of the small home at 1561 Massachusetts Ave. called 911 to report a fire on her kitchen stove at about 9:10 p.m.
"Looked like the fire started in the kitchen area. Best guess at this point is that it an animal turned the stove on," said Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre, repeating what the woman had reported.
"Basically, the occupant was alerted to the sound of the stove igniting, the electronic ignition. She came downstairs and witnessed the cat on the stove. Unfortunately, there was a box on top of the stove, and that lit, and that got the cabinets going."
One cat was saved but firefighters were unable to rescue two other cats and two dogs.
The chief said he hadn't completed his investigation but was going by what the resident had reported at this point.
Firefighters were able to swiftly douse the blaze on arrival and were rolling up hose about an hour later. Mass Ave was closed at Ashton Avenue on the city side.
Lefebvre said the fire damage was "superficial" but that the smoke and water damage from fighting the fire ruined the contents. The house will require rehabilitation and repair and cannot be occupied until then.
The resident was taken to North Adams Regional Hospital by Northern Berkshire EMS after some convincing. The Red Cross was being contacted for aid in finding her shelter for the night.
The Williamstown Fire Department responded for mutual aid and Clarksburg Fire Department was called to cover the station.
First responders were also dealing with a downed wire at Walnut and Frances street and reports of someone on the railroad tracks about the same time.
Firefighters ran into water pressure issues at the last fire on Massachusetts Avenue two years ago. Lefebvre said there was not problem this time, though the nearest hydrant, an older one, had a crack and a line had to run to the next one.
"We had plenty of water," he said. "There's some road construction that went on ... They tied in an eight-inch line from one side of the system to the other, which now back feeds and pressurizes this whole loop. So that's made a big improvement.
"Now it's more or less just fixing the end units."
Tags: structure fire,
