ADAMS — Authorities are investigating a fire that damaged a home on North Summer Street on Monday morning.

No one was injured. The fire was reported around 9:45 a.m. at 78 N. Summer St. One of the occupants of the home went to the second floor to turn on a light, and it flashed and went off, according to Tim Ziemba, assistant chief for the Adams Fire Department.

The man then went downstairs and turned the circuit breaker back on, and when he returned to the second floor he could hear flames in the wall. The man and another resident evacuated the home, and firefighters arrived within minutes.

The blaze was contained to one room on the second floor and the attic, Ziemba said. It was extinguished by 11:15 a.m.

More than 50 first responders came to the scene of the fire, including personnel from the Adams, Williamstown, Savoy, Lanesborough and Cheshire fire departments.

“Hats off to those guys,” house occupant Rachel Tomkowicz said. “They are all volunteers, and they all showed up no matter what they were doing at home.”

Photos by Gillian Jones

After having multiple vendors in to demo the latest offerings in battery-powered hydraulic rescue tools, the Adams Fire Department has decided to go with Holmatro and it's loacal dealer IPS out of Salem, New Hampshire.

The new Holmatro Pentheon Series tools are a major shift for the department and marks the first set of battery-powered tools to be used here in Adams. Prior to this new set, the department has used Hurst products including its original "Jaws of Life" tool purchased over 45 years ago.
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While a few items are on backorder, we are beginning to train with the new tools and hope to have the complete setup mounted and ready for action soon. Check out the tools in the video posted below.

Courtesy of iBerkshires
By Brian Rhodes
Tuesday, February 16, 2022
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ADAMS, Mass. — Several fire companies are battling a fully involved structure fire in the town of Adams. 
 
The call was reported shortly after 4:30 p.m. for 14 Hastings Ave., a single-family, two-story home located near Renfrew Field. Cheshire and North Adams fire departments were responding for mutual aid; Savoy Fire Department was called in to cover the fire station. 
 
At least one person was in the house at the time. Dispatch called for emergency medical technicians to assist an individual who was now outside the house but suffering from smoke inhalation. 
 
Police Chief K. Scott Kelley, who as at the scene, said the lone occupant at the time was able to get out of the building. She was taken by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.
 
Flames could be seen pouring out of the both first and second story of the structure and black smoke was spilling from the roof. The home has a large yard is not close to any other structures.
 
Electrical power and gas was cut to the entire block.
 
Police Officer Joshua Baker was the first on the scene and made sure all the occupants were out but Kelley believed the family may have lost some house cats.
 
He confirmed that one woman was taken to the hospital, saying she seemed to be having a panic attack. He wasn't sure if it was related to smoke inhalation.
 
"They took her to the hospital to make sure everything was OK," he said. "We had one dog we got out. I ran around the back and tried to get the other animals but we were pushed back by the flames."
 
Kelley said he had just been to the scene and hadn't seen anymore occupants show up.
 
"It's just devastating," he said.
 
Fire Chief John Pansecchi was still working the blaze and not yet able to speak to possible causes. 
 
The fire had been somewhat contained but as the evening darkened, the flames could easily be seen from various points around the area. Hastings is on the hill side west of Friend Street and residents were posting pictures from lower elevations of the burning structure. 
 
"I was just walking along Friend Street and well what I thought was maybe like a forest fire turned out to be a house fire. It's pretty bad," said Jackson Rysz, who spotted the flames about the time the fire was reported.
 
 A friend lives in a nearby house, he said, so he was curious and walked up the hill and was passed by police and an ambulance before the fire trucks arrived.  
 
"And then by the time I got to around the bend down there, the whole thing was gone," Rysz said.

Additional photos here.

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Courtesy of iBerkshires
By Jack Guerino
Tuesday, September 07, 2021

ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters on Monday night were able to quickly douse a stove fire in a Summer Street apartment, preventing the blaze from spreading through the building.
 
"There was a fire in the kitchen caused by storage on top of the stove," Fire Chief John Pansecchi said on Tuesday. "It is possible that the stove got turned on accidentally."
 
The call came in around 9:30 p.m. Pansecchi said the early response was important because the multifamily apartment building is located in a dense neighborhood.
 
"In a building like that probably in  5-10 minutes, it will spread into the structure. This is an old structure so it is good we could respond quickly," he said. "Buildings in this area are very close together." 
 
He said the occupant was outside of the building when the Fire Department arrived
 
Pansecchi said extra manpower was called in because of the potential spread, however, upon arrival, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quite quickly. 
 
"The occupant put a little water on it and knocked it down," he said. "We were able to go in there with the water cannon and knock it out."
 
Pansecchi warned of the dangers of leaving anything on the stovetop.
 
"I really want to get out, do not store stuff on top of your stove," he said. "It is dangerous, and we see it a lot.
 
He added that it is also important to maintain fire alarms.

Courtesy of iBerkshires
By Jack Guerino
04:41PM / Saturday, July 31, 2021

ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Fire Department snuffed out a stove fire on Saturday morning that damaged Housing Authority units on 4 Columbia St.   
 
Firefighters responded for a reported fire alarm activation. On arrival, Chief John Pansecchi was advised there was a fire on the stove.  
 
The first arriving assistant chiefs stretched a 1 3/4 line into the apartment and extinguished the blaze.
 
The fire had extended up the wall into the vent fan over the stove and to the cabinets, where it started to burn. The vent fan and a cabinet were removed and the wall behind the stove was opened up to check for extension.
 
There were no injuries but there was fire, water, and smoke damage in the apartment. The occupant will be staying with family.
 
Two other apartments had minor smoke damage. These occupants will be able to stay in their units.  
 
In addition to firefighters, police, Adams Ambulance and the code compliance officer responded to the scene. The building inspector was also notified.