Fire damages Cheshire Home, No One Injured

Several residents still have a place to live thanks to the local firefighters who saved their home on Wednesday.

The Berkshire Eagle  reports around 6:45 p.m., the Cheshire Fire Department responded to 33 Richardson St. where firefighters found heavy black smoke billowing from the basement. Assistant Cheshire Fire Chief Corey Swistak immediately called for mutual aid. Adams, North Adams and Lanesborough fire departments were called to the scene, with Dalton on standby in the Cheshire fire station.

Swistak said the firefighters who entered the basement quickly doused the smoke and flames, keeping both from spreading throughout the three-story wood frame house dating back to the Civil War.

Swistak said the four people home at the time escaped unharmed from the multifamily dwelling. All of the residents were able to return to their apartments after firefighters cleared the scene.

According to Swistak an electrical problem likely sparked the fire,