Get Breaking News First

Receive News, Politics, and Entertainment Headlines Each Morning.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) Minneapolis firefighters are trying to figure out what caused a fire that killed a 46-year-old man.

Looking at the outside of the home, it was hard to even see any damage. But a man died inside the home on Logan Avenue North in Minneapolis. It was the second fatal fire of 2015 in Minnesota. A woman died Thursday after a fire in Vadnais Heights.

Scott Krider was watching and lives across the street from the latest victim. He described the scene Saturday evening.

Seen paramedics go in the house so we knew somebody was still in the house but they came out empty-handed so we knew somebody was left inside, Krider said.

He said that somebody was his buddy, Mike Klingelhoets, a man who lived a life of danger working for the past 17 years on a boat.

Hed usually spend three or four months home enjoying himself and then following year hed go back up to Alaska and fish again, Krider said.

A single man, Kilingelhoets father said he was going to change professions in the spring, working for the merchant marines.

He was getting tired of it and thinking of retiring. He said it was hard work, Krider said.

Read more here:
Man, 46, Killed In Minneapolis House Fire

By Antonio Coleman andMark Birdsall

CADILLAC Firefighters from two departments successfully doused a blazed that sparked in a Cadillac home early Friday morning.

The fire started about 1 a.m. The homeowners at 904 N. Mitchell St. came home to discover smoke and flames in the house. Cadillac Fire Department Lt. Mark Near said no one was inside the home at the time of the fire.

Smoke billowed out of the home as the fire was doused. Fire crews remained on scene until around 3 a.m. overhauling the affected portions of the structure. North Mitchell Street was temporarily blocked.

Fire damage was limited to one main floor bedroom, while the upper floor of the home sustained some smoke and heat damage, according to Cadillac firefighters.

Near said an investigation revealed that the fire originated in electrical wiring within a wall of the main floor bedroom. The fire went undetected spread to wall and ceiling cavities until smoke was noticed by the returning home owner.

The Cadillac Fire Department is reminding everyone to consult a licensed electrician anytime one encounters any questionable wiring within their home. The department also advises taking the time to install and test smoke alarms.

Cadillac firefighters were assisted by Haring Fire Department.

Comments posted to cadillacnews.com are the responsibility of the individuals posting them and the comments are not the views or opinions of the Cadillac News or its employees. If you believe a comment violates the Cadillac News terms of use please mark it as offensive and explain why. Click here to see or terms of use. Frequent violators of the Terms of Use could have posting privileges suspended.

Please note by clicking on Post Comment you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.

Read the original here:
Firefighters save home on North Mitchell Street

January 3, 2015 9:21 AM

Frayed wiring on a Christmas tree sparked a Dorchester fire. (WBZ-TV)

BOSTON (CBS) A dozen residents were displaced by a Dorchester fire that investigators said was caused by faulty wiring on a Christmas tree.

Boston firefighters responded to Bellevue Street in Dorchester just before 8 p.m. on Friday night for a two-alarm fire in an occupied three-family home.

No one was injured by the fire, but it caused about $500,000 in damage and 12 people were unable to return back inside.

Fire investigators determined that the fire was caused by a spark from frayed wiring on a second floor Christmas tree.

The flames engulfed the tree quickly and spread rapidly throughout the building, firefighters said.

A neighboring home was evacuated after it suffered surface damage, but the residents were allowed back in the building.

MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON

See the original post here:
Wiring On Christmas Tree Sparks Dorchester Fire

As waters subside, power restored to more places and highway reopens.

KUALA LUMPUR: More people are returning home in flooded peninsular states, but in Sabah rising waters have forced more to evacuate.

Power was restored to more than 80 per cent of electricity consumers in Kelantan, and the East Coast Highway from Karak to Jabor was reopened to all vehicles this morning.

There were less than 75,000 evacuees in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor this morning but the number in Sabah rose to 910 people this morning from 615 people last night.

Most of them were in Kota Belud (810) followed by Kota Marudu (82) and Pitas (18).

As people returned home in Kelantan, power had been restored to more than 80 per cent of consumers in the state, a spokesman for Tenaga Nasional Berhad said.

KELANTAN: the sky was overcast with intermittent rain, but the number of evacuees dropped to 24,020 people as compared to 26,029 people last night.

They were in Tanah Merah (14,184), Kuala Krai (3,636), Gua Musang (3,006), Machang (2,555), Kota Baru (515) and Tumpat (124).

PAHANG: the number of evacuees fell to 42,938 people as compared to 43,624 people last night, in Temerloh (20,962), Pekan (11,063), Jerantut (3,792), Bera (3,479), Maran (2,168), Kuantan (1,074) and Lipis (400).

TERENGGANU: 143 people in Dungun.

Continue reading here:
More Kelantanese go home but flood victims in Sabah rise

By Chris Caesar @ChrisCaesar

Boston.com Staff | 01.02.15 | 8:52 PM

Boston firefighters extinguished a quick-moving fire in a three-family Dorchester home Friday night.

Investigators said the two-alarm fire at 34 Bellevue St. was caused by a spark from some frayed wiring on a Christmas tree in the buildings second floor apartment. From there, the fire spread to the third floor and roof.

There were no reports of any injuries. About 12 residents were displaced by the fire, officials said.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Another home at 32 Bellevue St. also sustained some damage, though officials said residents there will likely be allowed to return to their homes Friday night.

Continued here:
2-Alarm Dorchester Fire Caused by Christmas Decorations

A Christmas Day fire destroyed a mobile home in the town of Albion last week.

Firefighters were paged to a report of smoke coming from the structure about 6 p.m. on Dec. 25 and fought the fire for more than three hours, but the home appears to be a total loss, according to the Black River Falls Fire Department.

Smoke was visible when the department arrived to W11404 Spring Creek Rd. and firefighters later discovered the fire running in the walls and under the floor while conducting an interior attack.

No one was home at the time of the fire and no civilians were injured, but one firefighter was transported to a local hospital for a finger laceration, according to the department.

The cause of the fire isnt currently known, but an electric hot water heater and wiring could be the source. The owners, Benjamin and Deni Martin, reported having trouble with the hot water heater and working on it earlier in the day, according to the department.

A damage estimate isnt available, and the structure and contents were uninsured.

The department was on scene for three and a quarter hours with 12 firefighters who used 4,700 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze.

The American Red Cross is assisting the family.

The Black River Falls Fire Department is wrapping up its first-ever Keep the Wreath Green fire prevention campaign. The Christmas Day fire will represent the third red bulb lit on the stations outdoor wreath to represent every area structure fire that occurred between Thanksgiving and New Years Day.

More:
Christmas Day fire destroys mobile home

Even a one-time boost in income, from the sale of a home, for example, can raise your Medicare premiums. Photo by Flickr user kenteegardin/www.seniorliving.org.

Editors Note: Journalist Philip Moeller, who writes widely on health and retirement, is here to provide the Medicare answers you need in Ask Phil, the Medicare Maven. Send your questions to Phil.

Medicare rules and private insurance plans can affect people differently depending on where they live. To make sure the answers here are as accurate as possible, Phil is working with the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). It is funded by the government but is otherwise independent and trains volunteers to provide consumer Medicare counseling in state and local offices around the country.

Moeller is a research fellow at the Center on Aging & Work at Boston College and co-author of How to Live to 100. Follow him on Twitter @PhilMoeller or e-mail him at medicarephil@gmail.com.

Ralph Tenn.: If you sell your home to move to another state to retire, does that raise the cost of your Medicare Part B for that year, and how is that fair? Why do the proceeds from your house, a one-time event, put you into a high-income category?

Phil Moeller: Descend with me deep into the weeds, or, for the anatomically inclined, bowels of Medicare and Social Security bureaucracy. Ralphs question involves what is called the Income Related Monthly Adjusted Amount. Thats IRMAA for short, although there is nothing particularly short about it.

In brief, Medicares rates for Part B (doctor and outpatient) and Part D (drug) coverages are higher for those with higher incomes. IRMAA involves Part B but Ralphs official income levels should also affect his Part D premiums, according to the SHIP counselors who provide me advice for these answers.

Social Security, which does a lot of work affecting Medicare beneficiaries (you may shudder now), looks at a persons federal tax returns to see if their income has changed and is high enough to cause a boost in their Part B and Part D premiums. There is normally a two-year lag, so the agency will look at a 2013 tax return in evaluating 2015 premiums.

Im on Ralphs side here in that one-time gains like this do distort Ralphs true income situation. Of course, IRMAA should only jack up his Medicare premiums for a single year. But still, unfair is unfair.

Ralph apparently is concerned that the sale of his home will produce a big surge in his taxable income. This is a bit surprising, in that tax laws permit a hefty tax exclusion when someone sells their last home and does not roll over the proceeds into a new home. But lets assume Ralph has done his homework here and, for whatever reason, has or will report a big rise in his taxable income tied to the sale of his home.

Excerpt from:
How can selling your home raise your Medicare premiums?

DMP has added three new Z-Wave compatible light switches to further enhance your customers' home and business automation. End users can now wirelessly or manually control overhead lighting in their home or small business using the Virtual Keypad App on smart phones or tablets.

Choose from three new light switches; replace existing light switches and keep existing wiring: Z-Wave Toggle Style Auxiliary Switch (Z-45741): The toggle switch enables control of lighting in 2-way, 3-way, or 4-way wiring configurations. Z-Wave In-Wall Dimmer Switch (Z-45742): This dimmer switch enables on/off and dim control functions of hard-wired CFL/LED and Incandescent lighting. The dimmer feature allows customers to customize the lighting output and create the perfect ambiance for any room in their home or business. Z-Wave In-Wall Toggle Style On/Off Relay Switch (Z-45740): This On/Off switch enables control of direct wire incandescent, LED, xenon, halogen and fluorescent lighting.

Other Z-Wave devices already offered by DMP include: Light and Appliance Modules: Just plug-in the Z-Wave device, then plug in a light or appliance. Turn lights on/off, or dim them. Works with incandescent and fluorescent lights. Door Locks: Keyless Entry Door locks available in Polished Brass, Satin Nickel and Venetian Bronze. Thermostats: Installs just like a standard thermostat. Provides full remote control over temperature and fan settings.

Once your customers begin using "FAVORITES" on the Virtual Keypad App, they will be able to assign multiple Z-Wave devices to a single command.

The Virtual Keypad App is downloaded to a smart phone or mobile device. It provides all the functions of the security system keypad right on the mobile device. Click below to view the latest App update.

DMP is a privately held independent manufacturer of innovative intrusion, fire, access control, network and cellular communication products that are designed, engineered, and assembled in Springfield, MO. DMP is the recognized leader in alarm communication over data networks, with products that are available through professional electronic security companies. For more information, contact Melissa Pitfield at (800) 641-4282, or visit http://www.dmp.com.

Read the original:
DMP Offers More Z-Wave Control Devices with Three New Lighting Switches

ISPreview.co.uk takes a look back at how the top fastest and largest national Mobile Broadband (3G/4G) and Home Broadband providers have performed over the last quarter. Overall Virgin Media still tops the fixed line table with an average Internet download speed of 53.20Mbps (unchanged from Q3 2014), while Vodafone delivered the best mobile performance at 13.78Mbps.

Firstly, there have been a few changes since our last quarterly update in October 2014 (here), with Eclipse Internet being removed from the list because theyve stopped selling domestic packages. On top of that weve decided to start tracking the quarterly performance of the four primary Mobile Broadband providers (note: T-Mobile and Orange are aggregated under parent Everything Everywhere).

Overall the performance of the largest national fixed line Home Broadband ISPs (including the impact of related business connections) during the final quarter of 2014 has remained more or less stable, largely because there havent been any major changes in the market since Virgins double-speed upgrade began at the start of this year (this added roughly 10-15Mbps to VMs average download rate, mostly due to their dominant 30Mbps subscriber base being pushed to 50Mbps).

Meanwhile its interesting to note that the speeds for ISPs that offer up to 80Mbps Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) services, particularly BT which holds the lions share of related subscribers, have broadly tended to remain stable and that might be at least partly due to crosstalk interference becoming more of a problem (this can slow FTTC lines in busy areas). The future addition of Vectoring, which is designed to cancel out crosstalk, should have a positive impact (assuming BTOpenreach ever get around to deploying it).

The Fastest UK ISPs Average Download Speed (Megabits per second)

1. Virgin Media 53.20Mbps 2. BT 25.61Mbps 3. Zen Internet 24.22Mbps 4. PlusNet 22.64Mbps 5. TalkTalk 15.25Mbps 6. Sky Broadband 13.59Mbps 7. EE 13.52Mbps

Average Speed = 24Mbps

The Fastest UK ISPs Average Upload Speed

1. BT 7.64Mbps 2. Zen Internet 7.47Mbps 3. PlusNet 6.89Mbps 4. Virgin Media 6.43Mbps 5. Sky Broadband 3.79Mbps 6. EE (Orange) 3.19Mbps 7. TalkTalk 2.73Mbps

Average Speed = 5.45Mbps

Continued here:
The Fastest 7 National UK Home and Mobile Broadband ISPs for Q4 2014

Posted: Thursday, December 25, 2014 4:00 pm

Iowan who dresses as Santa loses home in Christmas Eve fire

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) An Iowa man who dresses as Santa Claus for charity has lost his home and all of his belongings in a Christmas Eve fire.

The Hawk Eye in Burlington says firefighters were called to a Keokuk home around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday. By the time they arrived, the house was engulfed in flames.

An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety.

Sign up now for a digital only subscription to omaha.com for just $25.00 a month. As an All Access digital only subscriber you will have unlimited access to the ePaper and Omaha.com content.

Subscriptions will automatically renew. You may cancel at any time. You will be notified in advance of any price increases.Sales tax may apply.

Access to Omaha.com is available at no charge to members. You will be asked to provide your subscription address to confirm you are eligible for this option.

Sign up now for All-Access to Omaha.com for just $7 a month if you are a 7-day Omaha World-Herald print subscriber. As an All-Access subscriber you will have unlimited access to the ePaper and Omaha.com content. You will be asked to provide your subscription address to confirm you are eligible for this option.

Subscriptions will automatically renew. You may cancel at any time. You will be notified in advance of any price increases. Sales tax may apply.

Continued here:
Iowan who dresses as Santa loses home in Christmas Eve fire