Investigators Asking For Help In Determining Cause of J.B. Paper Fire

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Investigators are asking for the public's help in determining how the J.B. Paper factory fire started Monday night.

 

State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey,Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski and Police Chief Michael Wynn are asking anyone with information about it to contact the detective bureau at 413-448-9705 or the arson hotline at 1-800-682-9229. 

 

"The investigative team is asking anyone with information about the fire to come forward confidentially. The cause of the fire remains undetermined and we are looking for information on how the fire started whether it was accidental or intentional," Ostroskey wrote. 

 

Investigators were on scene Wednesday trying to determine what happened. The electricity and gas had been shut off for years to the abandoned building, leading fire officials to say the fire was likely caused by somebody inside the building - either by accident or intentionally. The recorded owner of the building died in 2009.

 

"We can rule out electrical. The electrical that serves this building has been shut off for years. Nobody has any right to be here other than the property owner and they were nowhere near this place. It is either accidental by a squatter or trespasser making a fire inside, doing who knows what. Or it is a malicious intent to start a fire with an open flame. It is either accidental arson or arson," Deputy Chief Daniel Garner said on Tuesday morning.

 

Securing the site has posed a challenge over the years, Garner said, and on multiple occasions police and fire had been at the site looking to ensure it was closed off. But, squatters and trespassers were still known to find their way into the building.

 

The fire was the largest one the city has seen in decades. It required help from at least eight surrounding towns and firefighters worked all night to control it. It isn't clear exactly what time it began because it had been burning for some time before the call was made. When firefighters arrived, it was already showing heavy fire and firefighters immediately went on the defensive. Garner said the fire must have been burning for some time to pick up intensity before the department received the call at about 8 p.m. 

 

The arson hotline is part of the arson watch reward program that provides rewards of up to $5,000 for information that helps to solve fire cases.