Smoke can be seen coming from the upper apartment. The blaze was brought under control quickly.
The scene was going to be held for a couple hours to allow for the investigation.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A local man is being detained in the investigation into a suspected arson on Cleveland Avenue on Monday afternoon.
"He's being detained as part of the investigation. So that's all the details we have right now, but we're gonna hold down the scene so we can do a full investigation," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey.
The state fire marshal and state investigators were at the scene later in the afternoon with a dog; Cleveland Avenue remained closed off with the likelihood investigators would be there until later in the evening.
The initial call was that there was a pipe bomb shortly after noon. This has not been confirmed. Then it was called in as a house on fire and police, firefighters and Northern Berkshire EMS responded to the scene.
There was some smoke coming from an upstairs apartment of the home, where the fire apparently started in a bed.
The blaze was put out quickly and one of the home's occupants was taken into custody. The other occupant was able to get out safely though they said their cat was still inside. The cat was found unharmed later and removed safely from the scene.
Interim Police Chief Mark Bailey said earlier in the afternoon that the state fire marshal had been called and that the scene would be held for a couple hours.
Police set up yellow tape around the scene to block traffic and keep nearby residents at a distance. Bailey and detectives entered the unit with gloves on. Firefighters brought in a fan and opened windows in the upstairs apartment to let out smoke.
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