Posted: Wednesday, December 3, 2014 8:05 am | Updated: 11:09 am, Wed Dec 3, 2014.

Midtown fire displaces family of three St. Joseph News-Press St. Joseph News-Press & FOX 26 KNPN |

Plumes of smoke rolled out of a Midtown home after overheated electrical wiring sparked a fire early Wednesday morning.

Shortly before 12:45 a.m., eight fire crews responded to 521 N. 19th St. in response to a reported structure fire. Dark clouds of smoke poured out of the upper portion of the home as firefighters arrived to the intersection of 19th and Mulberry Streets.

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Excerpt from:
Midtown fire displaces family

UPDATE 11/26/14 @ 5:45 p.m. WAYNE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Five victims, including three elderly people, escaped a fire that destroyed a home in Wayne County Wednesday morning.

The fire broke out along Coplen Branch Road about 10 a.m. Wednesday.

One teenage boy who lived at the home and another who was visiting helped the three disabled elderly people escape the fire. Those boys are now being called heroes.

"The house was already in flames; they just kept pulling people out," Donnie Abrams, a resident of the home, says. "Thank the Lord, my son was here and got all the elderly people out."

The elderly adults rescued are family members that are taken care of by the other people who live in the home.

"My old lady just kind of takes care of all of them; its like our own little nursing home we have out here," Abrams says. "Everybody takes care of everybody."

The home to six people is considered a complete loss.

"We don't have nothing now; we'll have to start over," Abrams said. "We're just glad everybody got out."

Although everyone was able to make it out safely, the family dog did not survive. Abrams says they brought the dog in Tuesday night to keep it out of the cold.

Investigators say the are unsure what caused the fire, but the family fears old wiring may have sparked the flames.

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UPDATE: Five Escape House Fire in Wayne County

FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -

A home in Northwest Fresno is vandalized when bad guys write racial slurs all over the walls. However, this is not the first time hateful words have been tagged at the home.

While walking through the McGee home you can see racial slurs written all over the walls and kitchen cabinets.

"I'm angry, very angry that someone would do something like that because we don't have any enemies that we know of," says Mary McGee, whose home was vandalized.

McGee says the thieves broke into the house early Saturday morning. The bad guys also knocked over furniture and stole most of the McGee's electronics.

"This happened once before, but not this bad," says McGee.

She says back in 2003 the family's cars were vandalized and a racial slur was written on the garage.

However, this time not only was the whole house damaged, there was also a fire.

"When we got home my husband looked and said, 'Hey is that smoke,' says McGee, "We got out of the car and ran up to the house and saw that the attic was inflamed."

Investigators say the fire and vandalism happening at the same time is coincidental. Fire inspectors say the fire was caused by wiring and it started in the attic. As for who vandalized the home, that's a mystery.

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Thieves Write Racial Slurs All Over A Fresno Home

In Palm Beach, the demand for new houses is as strong as an ocean rip current. Owners of recently completed custom-built homes are discovering they own prime real estate indeed.

Which might explain at least part of the reason that an Ohio racetrack owner has sold the custom home he and his wife completed last year on the North End at 200 Ocean Terrace. The four-bedroom Bermuda-style house was not on the market when it changed hands for $6.6 million via a deed recorded last week.

Brock E. Milstein sold the property as trustee of a revocable trust in his name. The 6,612-square-foot house was bought by Timothy C. Davidson of West Palm Beach, the deed shows. Davidson is affiliated in business records with a family company named Somerset Capital Partners.

Milsteins trust bought a 1950s-era house on the property from Arthur Oldham II for $1.425 million in April 2011 and demolished it.

Michael Perry of MP Design and Architecture designed the new Bermuda-style house for Milstein and his wife, Kimberley, according to town records. One lot west of the beach, the house stands on a lot measuring a third of an acre, a mile north of the Palm Beach Country Club.

Milstein is chairman of the board Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park, a racetrack with entertainment near Cleveland, and managing director of Milstein Capital Group. His wife is an entrepreneur.

Fite Shavell agents Lynn Warren and Gary Little acted on behalf of the Milsteins. They served that role three years ago when the Milsteins bought the property, opposite Corcoran Group listing agents Elizabeth Cleckner and John Pangborn.

In last weeks deal, Corcoran agent Andrew J. Reynolds represented the buyer, whose parents once lived on the island. The houses location near the beach was a plus, Reynolds said. So was the fact that it had sophisticated wiring for electronics and a long list of other custom features that you might not find in a newer house developed on speculation.

The Milsteins declined to comment, and Davidson couldnt be reached.

*

Read more:
New custom-built home fetches $6.6 million

By Antonio Coleman

CADILLAC Weatherizing your home may not just be a good idea for keeping warm air inside your house it could keep pests out.

Insects and other pests invade homes every winter in search of a warm place to survive the cold.

Christine Strang, co-owner of Crossroads Pest Control, said boxelder bugs, spiders and mice are among the most common pests invading homes this time of year. Among them, Strang said mice are one of the most destructive pests for homeowners.

Mice often have to constantly chew to keep their teeth a certain length, and this could lead to them chewing through your wiring, drywall and food products, Strang said.

Because of their ability to squeeze through openings the size of a pencil and run along narrow ledges, she said mice have no trouble invading your home. Given adequate living conditions, she said mice can become a nightmare and significant pests for homeowners.

Once you have mice that are old enough to breed, you could end up with about 30 mice within three months time, Strang said.

Mark Lee, manager of Environmental Pest Control, said the multicolored Asian lady beetle is another serious problem for homeowners this time of year. He said beetles are often attracted to heated surfaces and tend to congregate near the sunny side of the home. He said the months of September, October and November are the most active time for the beetles, and areas such as attics and wall voids are common places to find them in your home.

As the heat escapes from inside your home and through the walls, it brings them out of hibernation and into your home, Lee said.

Lee said that although lady beetles pose a lower risk of damaging property, an infestation could be a serious nuisance for homeowners.

Read this article:
Keep overwintering critters out of your home with weatherization

A Scott County fire investigator said old wiring caused a house fire on Bourbon Street in Georgetown early Wednesday morning. Georgetown firefighters said the fire started around 3:30 a.m. in the wall in the attic portion of the two-apartment dwelling. Charles Masterson lived in the apartment on the top floor. He said his home is a total loss. "I'm just grateful my son wasn't here," said Masterson. Masterson said his power went out around 7 p.m., a few hours after his space heater had been plugged in. He said he called the landlord and went to stay with his mother, brother, sister and others in the apartment downstairs. "At 3:30 this morning my sister's boyfriend was yelling at me to get up. I went outside and there was smoke everywhere. There was smoke on the ceiling," said Masterson. The firefighters told the ten people living at the residence they could no longer stay there. They are all staying with Masterson's grandmother temporarily.

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UPDATE: Investigators Say Old Wiring Caused Georgetown Fire

A Scott County fire investigator said old wiring caused a house fire on Bourbon Street in Georgetown early Wednesday morning. Georgetown firefighters said the fire started around 3:30 a.m. in the wall in the attic portion of the two-apartment dwelling. Charles Masterson lived in the apartment on the top floor. He said his home is a total loss. "I'm just grateful my son wasn't here," said Masterson. Masterson said his power went out around 7 p.m., a few hours after his space heater had been plugged in. He said he called the landlord and went to stay with his mother, brother, sister and others in the apartment downstairs. "At 3:30 this morning my sister's boyfriend was yelling at me to get up. I went outside and there was smoke everywhere. There was smoke on the ceiling," said Masterson. The firefighters told the ten people living at the residence they could no longer stay there. They are all staying with Masterson's grandmother temporarily.

Read more here:
Fire Investigators Say Old Wiring Caused Georgetown Fire

By John D. Taylor

With heating season thrust upon us by the latest polar vortex, and the holidays just around the corner, now is a good time to be thinking about fire safety in the home.

How long do you think you might have in the event of a fire to get out of your home? And what would you do, how would your family react in the event of a fire?

According to American Red Cross spokesperson Anne Marie Borrego, research shows most people believe they have about five minutes to escape a fire in the home. However, the real figure is only two minutes, a scant 120 seconds, especially in modern constructions. Along with this, the Red Cross is urging families to have a fire escape plan, and to practice this escape plan, Borrego said.

Crosby Fire Chief Travis Running agrees.

I thought it was three minutes, he said, but with new construction, it could be two.

Running said he has seen examples of this with how older homes burn vs. newer homes: Newer homes go up in flames much more quickly than older homes, he said.

Running has seen studies where in older homes, with older furnishings, the amount of time people had to escape a fire was about 12 minutes. In newer homes, that time shrinks down to two or three minutes at most, he said.

New homes with new furnishings burn 10 times faster than older homes with older furnishings, he said. New products are like a big torch.

Running believes construction techniques and materials are to blame: Modern furniture, for example, is often made with pressboard which is glued together to form a solid board, then sheathed with a veneer of wood or other materials, glued to the board. This furniture has more adhesives, which causes furnishings to burn faster, and produce noxious fumes, Running said.

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Home safety on fire chief’s mind

Heather Hach has sold her home in Hancock Park for $2.675 million.

Called Villa di Serenita, the Mediterranean/Spanish-style house retains its 1928 charm but includes such modern updates as solar-powered electrical and wiring for electric vehicles. Details include vaulted beamed ceilings, colorful tile stair risers and hardwood floors.

The two-story house is entered through a flagstone courtyard with a fountain. Within the 3,604 square feet of living space are a two-story foyer, a den/office, a library, four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

French doors open to a swimming pool and a spa in the backyard.

Hach wrote the screenplays for Freaky Friday (2003) and What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012) and the libretto for the 2007 musical Legally Blonde. She also appeared on the MTV series Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods.

The writer paid $2.899 million for the property in 2007, public records show.

Frank Bruno of Keller Williams was the listing agent. Darla Sue Gilmartin of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties represented the buyer.

Twitter: @LATHotProperty

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Libbretist Heather Hach closes the book Hancock Park house

Home internet, wired or wireless? Thats a big question now days with more folks working from home. With a lot of newer homes being built today having the house pre wired for Ethernet connections is a common practice. In older homes wireless seems to be the way to go, especially with faster speed wireless routers. But, what happens when you live in an older home and your wireless signal wont reach all of your desired computing locations? TP-Link has a solution, the AV600 Gigabyte Powerline Adapter starter kit.

Note: Images can be clicked to view a larger size.

While this networking method is not new, the listed data transfer speeds for uploads and downloads are, up to 600Mps. The AV600 sent to me to review is a starter kit containing a sending unit and one receiver. Basically what this system does is turn your home wiring into a data conduit by using the sending unit to send data and the receiving unit to (you guessed it) receive the data. The sending unit is paired with the receiving units so in theory you could run multiple lines throughout your house.

The packages contains the following:

Has the following features listed on the TP Link website:

And the following hardware specs as listed on the TP-Link website:

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TP-Link AV600 Gigabit Powerline Adapter Starter Kit review