There were no injuries reported.
The owner, Paul Rinehart, said the house, which he rents out for Williams College student housing, may be a total loss. He said the students that had been living there left for the holiday break several days ago.
Rinehart noted the house was built as a three-bedroom farmhouse in the early 1800s. Today it sits adjacent to Williams College campus across the street from the schoolâs new science center construction project.
In fact, according to Williamstown Fire Chief Craig Pedercini, it was a member of the construction crew that spotted the smoke and called it in. In fact, a couple of construction workers also are firefighters, so when the first fire crew arrived, they helped connect to the hydrant and to run the pump truck until more firefighters arrived on scene.
The district set a deadline of Jan. 6 to reply to a request for qualifications for an OPM to help with design development, construction documents, bid and award, construction and final closeout of a station at 562 Main St. (Route 2), just east of Aubuchon Hardware. The RFQ gives a ballpark estimate of the project s cost at $10 million, which would be subject to a vote of all district, i.e., town, residents. The district s Building Committee hopes to interview candidates by the end of the month and sign a contract by Feb. 19, according to the RFQ. Time is going by quickly, so we ll assume the Building Committee and chief and officers will be digging into responses after the 6th, district Treasurer Corydon Thurston said last week.