NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Twenty-one people are currently without a home after city officials condemned an eight-unit apartment house for "life safety issues."

The three-decker structure at 35-37 High St. was abruptly evacuated on Wednesday evening because of fears the electrical load was so high it could have caused a fire.

"It could have burned the whole house down," said Administrative Officer Michael Canales on Thursday.

Canales said the problem was caused by an undersized electrical heating system. Tenants in the six occupied apartments were backing up the insufficient baseboards by turning on their electrical stoves, further putting strain on the electrical system.

"They complained Tuesday night that there was no hot water, there had been an earlier complaint about no heat and they were going to have an electrician in to fix the breaker that was tripping," he said. "By Wednesday, they had remedied the hot water but we were already going over."

When inspectors arrived on Wednesday, tenants began complaining about other issues. A number of violations have been found, such sanitary issues, non-working smoke alarms and improperly vented stoves, but the primary concern was that electrical wiring was overheated.

"When [Wire Inspector] Mike Lescarbeau went downstairs, he found that the feeder wires to the electrical panels were hot to the touch. They were overheating and could have caused a fire in the building," Canales said. "We immediately had to condemn the building as a life safety issue."

The other violations could have been worked out without forcing the tenants from their homes so precipitously, he said.

Canales said he was unaware of reports of rats in the building, and that inspectors had not seen any. He could not speak as to whether all the apartments had been certified for occupancy because that was still being researched.

The owner, Chris Bonnivier, is working to address the violations, Canales said. Tenants will not be allowed back in until those are remedied.

Fire Director Stephen Meranti on Thursday said electrical and gas had been turned off in the building.

The city has been collaborating with the owner, Berkshire Housing and other agencies to find places for the residents, although one person reportedly spent Wednesday night in a car. Canales believed everyone should have a place to go Thursday night but said efforts have been hampered by the large number of pets, largely dogs and cats,  in the building.

Many of them are still in the apartment but are not in danger of exposure. Temperatures may dip into the 20s on Friday but will rise again over the weekend.

"Our first concern is for the people, our second is for the animals," Canales said. "A lot people love their pets, we're trying to accommodate them to get these animals into areas where they will be safe."

Updated version at 6:19 p.m. Thursday of a brief article originally posted Wednesday evening.

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