Photos by Ben Garver
ADAMS -- A late morning blaze that severely damaged a 65 Alger St. home is being investigated by the state fire marshal's office. The fire, the second reported at the residence in less than 12 hours, left a single mother and four children homeless.
Adams firefighters were called to the home of Pamela Sherman, 41, at 11:23 a.m., and discovered flames and smoke coming from the building. A second alarm was sounded, and firefighters with the Cheshire and Clarksburg volunteer fire departments were called for assistance.
No one injured
Sherman and her son Kyle were at home when the blaze broke out, according
to firefighters. Both escaped without injury, as did a family
dog. Sherman's 10-year-old twins were in school and her 2-year-old child was at
a day-care center when the blaze broke out.
Kyle Sherman said his mother and he were asleep when a neighbor who had seen the fire roused them.
John Pansecchi, assistant chief of the Adams Fire Department, said the fire had been burning for a while before their arrival. "[The fire] was ahead of us when we got here," Pansecchi said.
Firefighters were forced to cut a hole in the two-story home's roof to allow heat and smoke to escape. The roof had already become dangerously hot when firefighters arrived, according to Selectman Joseph Dean Jr., a firefighter.
"That roof was so hot that you couldn't put your hand on it," Dean said.
The fire appears to have started on the second story, according to firefighters. One window at the south side of the house was blown out by the heat, and firefighters broke a window on the north side to vent smoke being forced out with specially designed fans.
The home sustained heavy smoke, water and fire damage, but is salvageable, according to Dean and Pansecchi.
However, Sherman said the house is not insured; the policy was canceled because her brother, Craig Sherman, 45, had been charged with arson.
According to court documents, Craig Sherman was charged with setting fire to an apartment house on Beaver Street in North Adams in 1999. He was later acquitted in Berkshire Superior Court.
Dean said firefighters had been called to the house at 3:30 a.m. yesterday for a minor fire, which apparently started when a lamp ignited some articles of clothing.
Adams
Assistant Fire Chief John Paciorek said late yesterday afternoon that the state
fire marshal had just arrived at the scene and was gathering equipment to begin
an investigation. Both the late-morning and early-morning fires are under
investigation, he said.
Paciorek said it was unlikely that any further information would be available until the investigation was completed.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross were also at the scene, offering assistance to the family, Paciorek said. He did not know where the family was being sheltered.
Shared home
The home is deeded to the late Dorothy Sherman, and is shared by Pamela Sherman and Craig Sherman under a joint tenancy established by their mother's estate, according to documents filed at the Northern Berkshire Registrar of Deeds Office.
Craig Sherman, who does not live at the residence, has filed a petition with the Berkshire Probate Court seeking an order forcing the sale of the house "at private sale for no less than $110,000," according to the document. The petition was filed in May. There are no additional documents filed at the registrar's office indicating whether the matter was resolved.
A fund for Pamela Sherman and her four children has been established, with donations being accepted at the Fund for Pamela Sherman, in care of Greylock Federal Credit Union, 150 West St., Pittsfield, Mass.
Susan Bush can be reached at sbush@berkshireeagle.com .