NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Dozens of firefighters labored through the day to bring a raging fire at a local scrap yard under control. 

 

Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre said the blaze has largely been contained but that crews will be working through the night to dig out the fires burning in the 100-foot long pile of automotive debris. He was hopeful it would be out by morning.

 

"There's a small area of fire still burning, we're still working to pull it apart. The pile is deep, and its rooted in the pile," said Lefebvre, speaking at the incident command center Tuesday evening. "It's about a two-story pile of rubble."

 

The fire started when a spark ignited gasoline still in a vehicle being cut up for scrap. George Apkin & Sons has been dealing with metal scrap at the end of Melody Lane since 1956.

 

The five-acre scrap yard lies between the railroad tracks and the Hoosic River and down a long lane, making access to water difficult. One hose was run from the hydrant at the former Sons of Italy and tankers filled up at the hydrant at Sarah T. Haskins School to replenish a pool setup at the scene.

 

There had been a question about nonfunctioning hydrants reported in the Ashland Street area. Lefebvre said he was only aware of one that had caused trouble and that the Water Department had responded and "got them hooked up to a hydrant that was working." He didn't know if was a matter of low pressure, which had been affecting lines because of the amount of water being drawn.

 

An approach on Ashland Street that was mounted by the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department ended about 6 and the street was to be opened by 7 p.m. The firefighters had been using a ladder truck to shoot water over the railroad tracks douse the blaze.

 

Fire crews from around Western Mass were descending on North Adams to spell local firefighters who had been battling the blaze since 10 on Tuesday morning. About 40-50 firefighters at a time have been working the fire. 

 

"All crews that were working here today have been released for rehab and they'll be returning at six o'clock in the morning," Lefebvre said. The numbers included all available members from the city department.

 

"Effective at 6 p.m. this evening, a task force under the Mass Fire Mobilization Plan from Hampshire County is providing relief for the first-responders locally, and will provide fire management and containment support overnight under the command of the North Adams Fire Department," said Mayor Thomas Bernard. "Preliminary assessments by the [state] DEP and the Division of Fire Services indicate no significant air quality risks to the community from the fire and monitoring is ongoing. All residents and businesses may return to normal operations."

 

Black smoke and flames had billowed over the city causing Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts to evacuate its campus and the nearby Cumberland Farms to shut down its gasoline pumps. Residents were advised to close windows and shut off air conditioning units to avoid the smoky haze and burning odor that permeated the city. 

 

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, the state Department of Environmental Protection's air quality monitoring team and state Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division responded to test the toxicity of the fumes from the junkyard fire. Air monitors were set up at various points and will be there through the night, the mayor said. The air was determined to clear, if smelly, and residents were advised they could open the windows and go outside by late afternoon. 

 

Local fire companies batting the blaze or shuttling tanker water to the scene included Adams, Adams Fire Wardens, Clarksburg, Florida, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lee, Otis, Peru, Richmond, Sheffield, Stamford, Vt., Williamstown and Windsor. Arriving late Tuesday were Amherst, Orange, South Hadley and Westhampton, and more were expected to arrive during the night or in the morning to take over. 

 

"These relationships are unbelievably important, critically important that we are receiving support from throughout Berkshire County from into Vermont and from Hampshire County and I believe Franklin's on point for the for the morning," said Bernard, referring also to the wildland fire last week that many of these same volunteer companies had fought.

 

Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson, regional coordinator for Western Mass, explained the extended mutual aid situation on Tuesday.

 

"We have run cards, as we call them, teams that are prepared," he said. "If an incident happens in whatever region, there's a specific group of towns that are going to respond to that whether it's forestry, structural, task force tankers, and so on."

 

This allows for exhausted fire crews to be rotated out, particularly during a large and lengthy fire, Anderson said. "This is a prescribed Massachusetts plan statewide, so that we can go from one end of the state to the other with prescribed mutual aid."

 

Tired firefighters were being provided with food and drink through Northern Berkshire EMS. Amalio Jusino, also a member of the Northern Berkshire Emergency Planning Committee, said food had been brought in from Angelina's Sub Shop and that McCann Technical School students would be providing breakfast on Wednesday. 

 

They were also getting donations from the community as well as using some of the overwhelming amount of water and nonperishables donated at last week's wildland fire. "People should know we are using what they generously donated," Jusino said.