Pittsfield Firefighters Battle Bakery Fire

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Flames burst out of the second story of the Lampiasi's Bakery in Pittsfield.

Update: Write-thru at 6:19 p.m. with quotes and new information.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The well-known Lampiasi's Bakery was engulfed in smoke and flames on Friday afternoon as firefighters battled to save what was left of the building.

The bakery at 53 Kent Ave. was open for business just before 2 p.m. when the fire was reported. Five workers, including two sons of owner Shawn Lampiasi, fled the building and were all accounted for.

Heavy smoke could be seen over North Street from the upper floor of the two-story building, and toward the back, where the bakery's century-old wood-fired ovens are located.

Fire officials do not have a cause but believe the blaze started in a void above the ovens between the first and second floor.

"Initially we did an interior attack, there was fire above the ovens," said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Polidoro. "We were operating the first alarm assignment, they were making no headway into the attack.

"We called the second alarm, which brings firefighters on duty to the scene and got mutual aid to cover the city with Dalton, Lanesborough and Lenox."

An hour into it, the airhorns were sounded and firefighters abruptly pulled from the building as the flames burst through the second-floor windows.

"There were guys who were in the building who unfortunately did not hear the evacuation order from me and one of our universal codes, throughout most fire departments, is to use the airhorns — three short blasts — in order to evacuate the buiding."

The top floor reportedly had office equipment and cleaning supplies but it was not clear they were stored there. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.  

The building dates to 1900 and suffered from another fire in the late 1980s. The property is assessed at $107,600.

The flames were beginning to die down later in the afternoon as firefighters mounted an exterior attack. Extra oxygen supplies were brought in.

Kent Avenue was closed and Seymour Street between Madison and Kent. County Ambulance, fire and building inspectors, and Berkshire Gas were at the scene, and many bystanders.

"A defensive attack as it is right now, is trying to maintian the fire at one point," said Polidoro as the crews continued to work at about 4:30. "They seem to be making some headway at this point."

The deputy chief said no one was injured although a couple firefighters experienced heat stress from the initial attack. "They all have recovered."

"The number of renovations in this building hampered our operations," he said. "Because of the different layers we had to get to ... the fire got a good hold."

The building, at the corner of Kent and Seymour, is separated from nearby buildings by parking lots and streets.

Lampiasi has operated the business for 31 years. It serves area restaurants and the public schools with breads and rolls.   The building is insured. The bakery had been previously owned by the late Walter F. Komuniecki Sr., who operated it for some 50 years before he died in 1969.