North Adams- On Tuesday, March 11th at approximately 11:46pm, a structure fire occurred at a duplex, 188-190 West Shaft Road, North Adams. North Adams firefighters responded to the blaze with mutual aid from Clarksburg and Williamstown. It took about an hour and a half to knock down the bulk of the fire and personnel were still working at the scene well into the morning. When emergency personnel responded to the fire, the structure was fully engulfed in flames. Both sides of the duplex were occupied during the fire. At the time of the fire, one side of the duplex contained one person who exited the residence with minor injuries. The other side of the duplex contained a family of five. Four members of the family were able to successfully exit the duplex, while a fifth was located inside after firefighters responded to the blaze.
Two members of the family, an adult and a minor, sustained serious injuries; two members of the family, an adult and a minor, sustained minor injuries; and one four-year old child died inside the residence.
All parties were transported to North Adams Regional Hospital. The two individuals who sustained serious injuries were flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Berkshire State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office responded to the scene, along with local law enforcement and emergency personnel. The investigation is being conducted by the North Adams Fire Department, North Adams Police Department, State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office, and Berkshire State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney’s office. They are assisted by the Department of Fire Services’ Code Compliance & Enforcement Unit.
More information will be released as it becomes available. The identification of the individuals in the fire, will be released once their families have been notified.