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FRANKLIN PARK (KDKA) No day is a good day to fight a fire, but on Thursday, it was 19 degrees felt like 12 and up on that aerial ladder, water is spraying back at you.

The call came in just before 11 a.m., bringing nearly half a dozen fire companies to the scene. But the house on Holmes Drive in the Settlers Walk neighborhood went up fast.

Murali Otti, his wife Saritha, and their two sons were not at home when it started.

Pavan Otti arrived from a doctors appointment to find firefighters mopping up.

I think its part of the electrical wiring of the house, said Pavan.

His parents were at a neighbors on the phone about insurance.

The damage to the house was far worse than neighbor Eric Palmer expected.

Theyre wonderful people; theyre great neighbors. Its just a shame, he said. Im glad nobody was home. Im glad nobody got hurt.

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Fire Destroys Home In Franklin Park

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) -- A daybreak blaze at a southwest Topeka home is being blamed structural wiring in the attic, according to the Topeka Fire Dept. Firefighters could see heavy flames coming from the front of the third floor of the home, 1301 SW 11th Street, shortly after 6:30 a.m.

Two people were safely outside the house by the time firefighters arrived and they said no one was else was still inside the home.

Firefighters say they were able to quickly contain the blaze, although the house reportedly received extensive fire and smoke damage. They said the fire caused $30,000 in structural damage and another $15,000 in damages to stuff in the home.

The American Red Cross has responded as well to help the people who lived there.

The Topeka Fire Dept. also noted they responded to another fire the day before. They determined that fire was accidental, and also associated with faulty structural wiring. The Topeka Fire Dept. believes the incidents are not connected.

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Topeka Home Catches Fire Almost Year To The Day Since Last One

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - A Louisville couple is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from Home Depot.

According to arrest slips, police received a tip on Feb. 3 that James Briles and Mary Cunningham were planning to steal items from the Home Depot on Breckenridge Lane in St. Matthews. An officer who knew Cunningham and Briles (both known fugitives) waited outside the store and stopped them as they were leaving.

Officers searched Briles and Cunningham and found several pairs of pruning shears that had been shoved down the front of Briles' pants. Police say they also found stolen merchandise in Cunningham's purse.

The combined value of the merchandise found on the couple was estimated at more than $500.

Cunningham and Briles consented to a search of their vehicle, where police discovered more stolen property. The value of the items found in the couple's car was estimated at approximately $600.

According to arrest records, Cunningham and Briles were indicted on Jan. 23 for engaging in organized crime for their alleged involvement in shoplifting items from local Home Depot stores, then returning it for gift cards, which were later sold to area pawn shops.

An arrest warrant states the first known thefts date back to June of 2012, and continued until they were arrested.

The total value of the stolen merchandise was estimated at $45,000.

After stealing the merchandise from Home Depot, police say Cunningham and Briles exchanged it forgift cards. The gift cards were then sold for a fraction of their value to several business, including the ATM Gift Exchange in Clarksville and the Easy Cash Cards/Pawn store and Action Loan in Louisville.

Cunningham already had an active warrant for heroin possession and had violated the conditions of her release by allegedly being involved in drugs and thefts. Cunningham has been banned from all Home Depot stores but continued to returnand steal, police say.

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POLICE: Couple stole $45K in merchandise from Home Depot

A short circuit is suspected to have caused a fire that damaged a home on Bergen Drive on Sunday, officials report.

According to West Milford Fire Commissioner Ed Steines, at approximately 5:23 p.m. on Jan. 26, a structure fire was reported at 34 Bergen Drive, which is located off Union Valley Road.

When they arrived, firefighters "found heavy fire coming from the rear of the garage area and rear exterior of the house," said Steines.

Firefighters from township fire companies 4 and 6, under the direction of Co. 6 Chief Wayne Morrissey, attacked the fire and were able to knock it down before the fire could reach the home's interior, but not before the inside of the home sustained heavy smoke damage, said Steines.

Power also had to be shut off to the home, he said, because the fire caused some wiring to become exposed.

There were no reported injuries resulting from the fire, and assistance was rendered at the scene by firefighters from companies 1, 3 and 5, as well as the West Milford First Aid Squad personnel, said Steines.

Steines said both he and Fire Marshal Vinny Corsaro of Jefferson investigated the fire, and believe it was caused by a short circuit in an outside lighting fixture.

Bryan La Placa

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Bergen Drive home in West Milford damaged by fire

Torontos red-hot real estate market has turned an elderly homeowner into a wealthy woman with the simple stroke of a pen.

Her dilapidated Roncesvalles home sold Wednesday night for $803,649 more than $150,000 over the asking price after a flurry of more than a dozen offers from contractors and families looking to put down roots in one of Torontos most up-and-coming neighbourhoods.

Interest was so intense and competition so close for the Galley Ave. home that listing agent Chander Chaddah plotted all the offers on a simple spreadsheet so they would be easier to understand for the owner, who is in her 80s and currently in hospital.

Whenever youre selling a home for somebody, its a bittersweet experience, says Chaddah. Ive had moms break down in tears as were signing an offer because their children were born and grew up in that house.

You are saying goodbye to a big part of your life.

The buyer is a contractor who apparently plans to live in the home, which is just steps from Roncesvalles Ave., once the extensive renovations are done.

More than 300 people showed up for open houses at the five-bedroom, soot-smeared home where the owner, who inherited the detached house from her mother more than three decades ago, had been living with her daughter.

For years, they had relied on kerosene heaters to keep them warm in winter because the house had no working furnace.

It also had a badly leaking roof, is missing windows, has knob and tube wiring and needs a complete gutting, if for no other reason than to get rid of the insidious soot.

While its become a common ploy among Toronto realtors to list homes well below market value to drive up interest and spur on bidding wars in a market where demand continues to far outstrip listings, Chaddah insists he wasnt doing that here.

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Roncesvalles fixer-upper draws a crowd and a hefty $803,649 sale price

PASCO, WA - Faulty wiring in a light fixture is to blame for a fire that left six people without a home Tuesday morning, in Pasco.

The fire started around 5:00 a.m. in the attic of the home, on the 900 block of South Lindsay Avenue.

Firefighters had to rip open the ceiling in the living room to get to the flames. It took them about a half hour to put out the fire.

The family was inside at the time, but was able to get out safely.

"Crews had to go in and gain access to the attic. It was lath and plaster construction-- so, they had a difficult time getting in--but once they got in there, we got the fire under control real quickly," said Battalion Chief Dave Hare of the Pasco Fire Department.

Firefighters said the family was able to salvage most of their belongings. The Red Cross is helping them with what they need.

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Electrical Fire in Pasco Leaves Six Without Home

A Provo woman and her two teenage daughters safely escaped an electrical fire that destroyed their mobile home early Saturday.

Provo Fire and Rescue

PROVO Giselle Hurtado said there was only one thing on her mind when her mother discovered a fire in the family's mobile home.

"All I wanted to do was just get out, be safe," the 15-year-old said. "You don't really think of anything, like grabbing anything, it's just like it happens really fast."

Giselle, her mother and her 12-year-old sister all safely escaped an electrical fire that destroyed their mobile home early Saturday. Giselle said her mother smelled smoke, got up to investigate and saw a flame near a closet full of shoes.

"We're very fortunate that she woke up to the smell of smoke. That typically doesn't happen," said Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield.

Once the mother, Leticia Quesada, noticed the smell of smoke in her trailer at 850 W. Columbia Lane #29, she alerted her two sleeping daughters. Giselle said her mother first told her to get a bucket of water, but she couldn't see because of the smoke.

They were able to escape the burning home and call for help about 12:15 a.m., Schofield said.

The home is a total loss and the family is receiving temporary shelter from the local chapter of the Red Cross, as they don't have relatives in the area.

"When you see it happen to other people it's like, 'Oh it happened to them,' but when it happens to you it just like hits you real bad," Giselle said. 'It's sad seeing all your stuff gone. It makes you stronger and you realize what you had and appreciate the stuff."

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Mother, two daughters homeless after a fire destroyed their mobile home

DEENA COSTER/ Fairfax NZ

HOME SWEET CHURCH: Bruce and Gail Thompson enjoy the peace and quiet of their converted church.

Pulling up a pew takes on a whole new meaning for visitors to Bruce and Gail Thompson's Taranaki home.

The couple live in what was the former St John's Church located by the main road, about 11km south of Hawera.

Thompson, who has owned the property since 1997, originally had plans to run a business from the address, but after the venture fell through, he decided to live in it instead.

"It just sort of became a home," he said.

The church, which was built in 1926, has been completely transformed by Mr Thompson but some of the original features remain.

These include the brick archway, which extends to the roof, as well as the church's pulpit which takes pride of place in the couple's living room.

The majority of the work on the one-bedroom house was done by a builder but Thompson did the painting, wiring and the fittings himself.

He said a lot of the material used in the home was recycled.

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Church becomes home, sweet home

PITTSBURG -- Modified electrical circuitry and wiring for an illegal marijuana grow operation sparked a two-alarm fire early Friday morning that destroyed a new home on the western end of the city, fire officials said.

Contra Costa firefighters responded shortly after 1 a.m. to a home on the 2600 block of Tampico Drive, where they found the attic and second floor ablaze. A second alarm was called to help fight the fire, as a collapsed roof and ceiling prevented crews from searching inside, fire investigator Vic Massenkoff said.

It took about 80 minutes and 35 firefighters to control the fire, officials said. No one was injured by the blaze.

Fire investigators and Pittsburg police are still investigating, including trying to track down the home's owner. The illegal wiring, which was set up to bypass the meter, likely caused the fire, police and fire officials said.

The home, built in late 2012, is a total loss, with the damage estimated at $400,000. The home had fire sprinklers, but its water supply was shut off at the valve, Massenkoff said.

Police recovered "a decent portion of the plants that weren't burned," Lt. Ron Raman said. All told, they recovered about 100 mature plants and about 200 smaller plants.

The home was unoccupied, though a caretaker may have stayed there on occasion, Raman said.

Hash oil labs and illegal marijuana grow houses are becoming common throughout the county, Contra Costa fire officials said Friday. About 35 have been identified in the county Fire District's jurisdiction in the past two years, Massenkoff said.

More often than not, newer tract homes are being used and catching fire in the same manner. The "hot tap" into electrical service is meant to keep the grow homes "off the radar because of their usage," Massenkoff said.

Earlier this month, police seized 960 marijuana plants and cultivating equipment from a two-story home in Antioch following a fire. That Jan. 14 fire began in a wall behind a fuse box where wiring had been installed to bypass detection by any utility company, officials said.

Excerpt from:
Marijuana grow discovered during Pittsburg house fire

PITTSBURG -- Modified electrical circuitry and wiring for an illegal marijuana grow operation sparked a two-alarm fire early Friday morning that destroyed a new home on the western end of the city, fire officials said.

Contra Costa firefighters responded shortly after 1 a.m. to a home on the 2600 block of Tampico Drive, where they found the attic and second floor ablaze. A second alarm was called to help fight the fire, as a collapsed roof and ceiling prevented crews from searching inside, fire investigator Vic Massenkoff said.

It took about 80 minutes and 35 firefighters to control the fire, officials said. No one was injured by the blaze.

Fire investigators and Pittsburg police are still investigating, including trying to track down the home's owner. The illegal wiring, which was set up to bypass the meter, likely caused the fire, police and fire officials said.

The home, built in late 2012, is a total loss, with the damage estimated at $400,000. The home had fire sprinklers, but its water supply was shut off at the valve, Massenkoff said.

Police recovered "a decent portion of the plants that weren't burned," Lt. Ron Raman said. All told, they recovered about 100 mature plants and about 200 smaller plants.

The home was unoccupied, though a caretaker may have stayed there on occasion, Raman said.

Hash oil labs and illegal marijuana grow houses are becoming common throughout the county, Contra Costa fire officials said Friday. About 35 have been identified in the county Fire District's jurisdiction in the past two years, Massenkoff said.

More often than not, newer tract homes are being used and catching fire in the same manner. The "hot tap" into electrical service is meant to keep the grow homes "off the radar because of their usage," Massenkoff said.

Earlier this month, police seized 960 marijuana plants and cultivating equipment from a two-story home in Antioch following a fire. That Jan. 14 fire began in a wall behind a fuse box where wiring had been installed to bypass detection by any utility company, officials said.

Continued here:
Marijuana grow discovered after Pittsburg house fire