The single-family home at 52 Seymour St. suffered damage because of the fire.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A family of five has been displaced following a fire that destroyed their Seymour Street home on Monday.

 

The family was not home at the time but the structure was damaged so severely that the building inspector has ruled it uninhabitable.

 

Two dogs that were inside during the fire were rescued by firefighters — one initially and then another while fighting the fire.

 

"We arrived on the scene at 10:49 a.m. and had heavy smoke showing across Seymour Street with fire on the backside of the house," Deputy Chief Michael Polidoro said. "There were no occupants home at the time. Both pets were rescued from the building."

 

Polidoro said the fire was called as a two-alarm in order to rotate the firefighting crews. All on-duty personnel responded first and later an on-call crew took over. After an hour and a half or so, the blaze was extinguished but firefighters continued to chase down hot spots.

 

"The fire took a lot of time to put out because it worked its way into the walls of an older structure and got into the attic area," Polidoro said. "The fire did extensive damage to the house. The occupants will not be able to live there."

 

He added, "it did become a double-alarm fire for manpower because we were trying to knock it down and chase it through the house."

 

The family — two adults and three children — rent from the owner John Giardina. The American Red Cross has been notified. As of 2 p.m., firefighters were helping to salvage the family's items that survived the blaze — but heat damage destroyed much of the single-family home.

 

The fire led to the closure of Seymour Street for more than three hours.

 

Polidoro said the rainy weather didn't play a role in fighting the fire. The cause is still unknown but inspectors are on scene in hopes to pinpoint it.

 

"The crews did a good job. They really worked hard today. It stretched them to their limits but nobody complained about it," Polidoro said.