Investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s office are still working to identify the cause of a fire at the Amici restaurant in West Stockbridge, said West Stockbridge Fire Chief Steven Traver.
First responders from the West Stockbridge Fire Department went to the blaze at 5 Albany Road around 4:20 a.m., and were assisted by departments around the area in a mutual aid effort. Engines from Lee, Lenox, Great Barrington, Stockbridge and Egremont responded to the call, as well as four towns from New York.
The fire was knocked down within about an hour of the firefighters responding, but the scene wasn’t cleared until around 9 a.m. Traver said it was standard procedure to monitor for a few hours to make sure the fire doesn’t spread in the walls for older buildings.
The fire started in the restaurant’s kitchen area, he said, and spread to the building’s second floor, which houses other businesses. Traver said the building’s second floor mostly sustained smoke damage from the fire, which he characterized as minimal. There was some fire damage to the outer walls of the building, he said.
Traver did not provide a damage estimate. The business will be closed for at least the next two weeks, according to an Instagram post from its owners.