A vacant single-family home on Beaver Street went up in flames Friday morning.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Officials are investigating a suspicious blaze that destroyed a vacant house on Beaver Street early Friday morning.

Firefighters, the state fire marshal's office and Fire Director Stephen Meranti were looking through the burned-out structure later Friday morning. A tree that had fallen over the roof at 60 Beaver St. several months ago was still there — although the roof was gone and the tree heavily charred.

Meranti said the fire is considered suspicious. "There were no utilities connected," he said.

The call came in for a fully involved structure fire at about 3 a.m. Friday, Meranti said, and the police officer who arrived first at the scene confirmed the building was ablaze.

Heavy flames could be seen shooting from the roof and windows when firefighters arrived, he said, and the officer in charge, Lt. John Paciorek, called for a second alarm.

"No entry was attempted," Meranti said. "Our first concern was to protect the area — this was a defensive action."

The house sits near the intersection with Route 2; the only other structure near it is a two-family home to its north. The overgrown yard was only slightly singed although Meranti said more was burned behind the building.

It did not take long to contain the blaze and firefighters were familiar with the house's layout having entered when the tree fell on it earlier this summer. Meranti said the building was empty.

The owner of record, according to the Registry of Deeds, has last been Michael and Diane Kemp. Meranti said they had been notified.

What was left of the structure was to be knocked on Friday for safety reasons.

The Lanesborough Fire Department took this photo of the early morning fire.

Update 11:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2014:
The Sept. 28 fire at V's Dog House Restaurant was electrical, according state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan and Lanesborough Fire Chief Charles A. Durfee.

The fire started inside a wall between the kitchen and bar around 4 a.m. The restaurant was closed at the time and there were no injuries. The estimated damage is $700,000. The building did not have fire sprinklers.

The fire was investigated by the Lanesborough Fire Department and state police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Assistance was received from an electrical expert and State Police Crime Scene Services.

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Update at 4:35 p.m.: The state fire marshal has ruled out arson as the cause of the blaze that destroyed V's Dog House early Sunday morning.

Fire Chief Charlie Durfee said there are two locations in the building that fire investigators are focusing on to determine the cause. He expected them to have an answer by noon Monday. 

The damage is estimated at $700,000, he said. The building (business was previously known as Zen's Dog House) was purchased by Edward L. Vella Jr. in 2009, according to documents in the Registry of Deeds.

Durfee also said the hydrants, owned by the Berkshire Mall, are maintained and functioning but firefighters ran into difficulties getting them open. There are no hydrants on the Route 8 side.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — V's Doghouse on Route 8 burned to the ground early Sunday morning.

Caius Veiovis from his mugshot in 2011.

UPDATED Sept. 29, 2014, at 3:00 p.m.

Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder on Monday afternoon ordered that Caius Vieovus serve consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the charges of murder in the first degree against David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell.

He was given concurrent eight- to 10-year sentences on the other charges.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The third man accused in a triple killing in 2011 was found guilty of first-degree murder on Friday afternoon.

Caius Veiovis, also known as Roy Gutfinski, 34, was found guilty by a jury in Hampden Superior Court.

The jury deliberated for about 36 1/2 hours over a six-day period before returning its verdict of guilty on three three counts of murder in the first degree, three counts of kidnapping and three counts of intimidation of a witness or other person.

Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder ordered that Veiovis be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without the right to bail pending sentencing that will occur Monday at 2 p.m. in the Hampden court.

The jury found that Veiovis kidnapped and then killed 44-year-old David Glasser, 58-year-old Edward Frampton and 47-year-old Robert Chadwell. The three Pittsfield men were last seen at a Pittsfield apartment shared by Glasser and Frampton on Aug. 28, 2011. Their dismembered bodies were found in Becket that September.

Glasser was set to testify against Adam Lee Hall, 34, in a drug case.

Hall, of Peru, the primary defendant, was found guilty and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the chance at parole. David Chalue, 47, of North Adams, was also found guilty of murder, kidnapping and intimidation of a witness in the highly publicized murders.

David Casey, 62, of Canaan, N.Y., is facing multiple charges of accessory after the fact for allegedly providing the equipment to bury the three bodies. He testified against Veiovis, Hall and Chalue at their trials.

All three were tried in Hampden County after defense attorneys convinced Kinder that the extensive coverage of the slayings in Berkshire County would prevent a fair trial.

The investigation was conducted by the Berkshire Detective Unit assigned to the District attorney's office and the Pittsfield Police Department. They were assisted by the FBI, the Berkshire County sheriff's office and members of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force.