JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -

There's some light at the end of the tunnel for a Jackson man who's dealt with no electricity to his home for the last month.

Otha Amos says some maintenance workers showed up at his houseMonday morning to fix the damaged wiring. Entergy had cut power to the homein Novemberbecause frayed wiring was a fire risk.

"Our meter reader, who went out to do the monthly reading to determine the amount of electricity used, noticed that the meter had damaged wires," said Entergy spokesperson Mara Hartmann. "If you've got damaged wires and electricity coming through, something could catch fire."

Sunday Amos said his landlord, Napolean Moore, refused to pay for the repairs.

"He don't answer my calls," said Amos. "I fooled him one time and called on my nephew's home, and then he answered. And I asked him, how come you didn't call me back. He said 'I don't have to call you back.'"

We tried contacting Moore, but he didn't return our calls.

Today, it was a different story.Amos says the landlord apparently paid forthe workersto fix the problem.

Amos said the workers will have to turn a permit in to the city of Jackson, certifying the repairs. From there, his power should be restored within the next 24 hours.

That's good news forAmos who has been living in the house without heat.

Read more:
Man in dark should have electricity by Tuesday

St. Petersburg Tribune

ST. PETERSBURG Two years ago, Shanoah Washingtons home on Preston Street in the Melrose Mercy neighborhood was a gutted shell.

Thieves had ripped out the air handler and plumbing. Gone, too, were windows, electrical wiring and most of the kitchen.

The home attracted the attention of St. Petersburg City Council Chairman Karl Nurse, who bought it and spent $34,000 doing it up as a way to reduce blight in his district.

If all goes according to plan, Washington will go from renter to owner through a lease-to-buy program that would allow her to own a home for the first time in her life.

The home was among an estimated 5,000 in the city that banks foreclosed on during the recession. Many of them were in the poorest neighborhoods, including Midtown, where hundreds of vacant homes fell into disrepair and attracted criminals, including drug dealers.

***

With so many homes affected, the problems facing communities like Melrose Mercy border on overwhelming. But slowly, the city and nonprofit groups are transforming derelict properties into new homes, hoping that piece by piece they can turn around some of the most poverty-stricken neighborhoods and encourage residents to stay and to maintain their properties.

Using $8.3 million of federal stimulus money, the city has bought 86 derelict properties, with 23 rehabbed and sold and an additional 16 undergoing renovation.

The Banyan group, a St. Petersburg nonprofit organization, plans to raise $6.5 million in bonds to buy and renovate Citrus Grove apartment complex on 15th Street South.

Read the rest here:
Push still on to rehabilitate blighted St. Pete neighborhoods

The home of famed KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was damaged by fire on Saturday. Frehley left the following message on his personal website regarding the fire that was reported at his 1347 Spring Valley Road home in Yorktown Heights, New York.

The official statement from the fire inspector was as follows: An electrical fire was caused by a tree falling on the wires in the backyard and shorting out the fuse box which in turn heated up the internal wiring in the walls and started the fire.

Im very thankful that no one was hurt!

The fire department and police did a great job, and Im very grateful to them for all of their help and courage in this matterjob well done! Ace

Reports claim that multiple fire companies were contacted around 11 a.m. though fortunately nobody was in the house at the time. According to Yorktown Heights Fire Chief Chet Swirski, We got to the scene and found heavy smoke showing from the roof line of the building.

Frehley does not currently reside in the property; however, a man who has been staying at the house returned as the firefighters were in the process of setting out the fire. Earlier this year, Lenders started the foreclosure process for the home according to Westchester County Court documents.

Recent suspicions have been voiced concerning the timing of the fire. In February of this year, the New York Post reported that the famous guitarist stopping making mortgage payments on the house. The US National Bank Association, which started foreclosure proceedings on Feb. 15, said the makeup-faced 70s star stopped paying his mortgage in 2011.

The website lohud.com reported the following in February: U.S. Bank National Association claims that the rock star, whose real name is Paul Frehley, stopped paying his $735,000 mortgage on March 1, 2011.

The present value of the home is marked at $541,516 though Frehley initially signed a $735,000 mortgage.

Go here to see the original:
Ace Frehley’s Home Engulfed in Flames

LITTLE ROCK, AR- At least three of the family members who were left without a home after a fire took everything they have, suffer from a disability.

"I got a phone call that a church members house was on fire," said Pastor Larry Walters.

It was at the home of his parishioners, a large family that lives just down Colonel Glenn Road.

Their home is nothing more than rubble this Sunday.

"The concern was for the handicap boys inside," said Pastor Walters.

A family with as many as four disabled members, the fire almost claimed their lives.

"The hero of the story is an unknown man named Terry," said Walters.

"He was here for a purpose," said Walters, "And that was to help them, and that's what we believe."

Exposed wiring outside the home may be a clue to the possible cause as early indications are it was electrical.

"Sad to see any time of the year, but this time of the year being Christmas," said Walters.

Go here to see the original:
Mystery Man Saves Family From Flames

Stockton home of 12-year-old in coma gets major retrofitting

Roy Vazquez Jr. is shown in a family photo in August, a day before a ruptured brain artery rendered him comatose.Hector Vazquez

December 14, 2013 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Sylvia Vazquez wants to bring her son home for Christmas.

John Shores, George Koertzen and a dozen or so building trades volunteers are doing everything in their power to make that happen.

And 12-year-old Roy Vazquez Jr. is demonstrating those signs of hope - independent breathing, opening his eyes - that could make that dream a reality.

Roy Vazquez Jr. is a seventh-grader at Hazelton Elementary. The school is selling T-shirts with his bucket list printed on them as a fundraiser. The family still faces daunting financial challenges. "Our son will require many things insurance doesn't provide," said Sylvia Vazquez, Roy's mother. "Diapers, personal care items, bedding, disposable bed pads." To help, you can:

Call: (209) 933-7210

Visit or write: Hazelton Elementary, 535 W. Jefferson St., Stockton CA 95206

Online: Get a T-shirt at Etsy.com ("Calianimal" in search box).

Original post:
'God's blessings' for stricken boy's family

Home | Back

December 13th, 2013 2:03 pm by Associated Press

CATAWBA, N.C. The scheduled burning of the million-dollar home once owned by former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield as part of a fire training exercise has been canceled.

Chief Donald Robinson of the Catawba Volunteer Fire Department said Saturday's scheduled burning was called off because of the threat of rain. Firefighters had said previously that rain would not prevent the burning from taking place.

Robinson said the house was in such bad shape firefighters couldn't conduct any of the practice drills inside. He also said the new owner doesn't want to keep the house, adding that the house will either be burned down or torn down.

State officials kicked Mayfield off the land in November 2012. Catawba County sheriff's deputies changed the locks on the doors. Carolina Farm Credit received an order that month transferring the land and buildings to the company. Court records show the bank bought the land for $1,725,000.

The windows and the wiring have been stripped from the home. Drywall and other building materials are now exposed.

Mayfield was suspended from driving in 2009 after testing positive for methamphetamine. He is facing a variety of charges.

CATAWBA, N.C. The million-dollar home once owned by former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield is scheduled to be burned to the ground as part of a fire training exercise.

The Catawba County Fire Marshal's Office said the 12,000-square-foot unfinished house will be burned down on Saturday.

Read the rest here:
Update: Threat of rain cancels burning of Mayfield's former home

The million-dollar home once owned by former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield is scheduled to be burned to the ground as part of a fire training exercise.

The Catawba County Fire Marshal's Office says the 12,000-square-foot unfinished house will be burned down on Saturday.

Catawba Fire Chief Donald Robinson said the new owners no longer want the home that is worth just over $300,000.

Robinson told WSOC in Charlotte that burning the home will take it off the tax books while providing training for firefighters in the county.

"Everything we can do to better our training and skills, that's what we are going to be doing with this house," Robinson said.

State officials kicked Mayfield off the land in November 2012. Catawba County sheriff's deputies changed the locks on the doors. Carolina Farm Credit received an order that month transferring the land and buildings to the company. Court records show the bank bought the land for $1,725,000.

The windows and the wiring have been stripped from the home. Drywall and other building materials are now exposed.

Mayfield was suspended from driving in 2009 after testing positive for methamphetamine. He is facing a variety of charges.

See the rest here:
Ex-racer Mayfield's home to be burned for training

The following information is provided by the Northampton Township Police Department:

Wednesday, Nov. 6

THEFT - Grenoble Road at Old Jacksonville Road. An investigator for PECO reported the theft of 1250 feet of copper wire valued at $4300 from their power lines. When the theft occurred was not known.

Friday, Nov. 8

DUI-RELATED ACCIDENT - Officers responded to a one vehicle traffic crash in the 300 block of Worthington Mill Road. On arrival they found that a vehicle that had been traveling eastbound had failed to negotiate a curve, left the roadway, struck a sign, bushes and traveled down an embankment. The driver of the vehicle was found standing beside it and identified as Richard Hays, 27, of Newtown. Observations of Hays by the officers, along with his inability to successfully preform a series of field dexterity tests, led to him being taken into custody on suspicion of having been driving while under the influence. Hays was transported to the St. Mary Medical Center where samples of his blood were obtained for analysis. He was then taken to police headquarters and processed before being released. Charges relating to DUI are pending the lab report.

Monday, Nov. 11

THEFT - Building 21 at Bennett Place. The victim reported the theft of a black 60-year-old wrought iron fish tank stand with a gray granite top from next to his front door. The stand had an estimated value of $100. Continued...

The rest is here:
NORTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP POLICE REPORT: Home burglarized on Magnolia Drive, thieves make off with copper wiring from power ...

Nobody was injured in an early morning fire in a Santa Maria mobile home, but Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. David Sadecki said the cause was pretty typical for this time of year.

A space heater overloaded the wiring inside the wall of the home just after 6:30 a.m. and caused a fire that awoke the three people in the Cherry Hills Road home. All three residents escaped safely and firefighters contained the fire to the wall where it started, but Sadecki said it was an incident all too familiar.

This is the second fire in four days that is directly related to a space heater. So we urge people to use caution when using space heaters because they draw a lot of amperage on the electrical system of your home, he said. If it doesnt trip the breaker it can do a lot of damage to the wiring of your house.

A house fire Friday night in Orcutt was also blamed on overloaded electrical outlets.

County fire has issued several warnings already this year to alert residents to the dangers associated with home heating systems. Among them are:

Read the original:
No injuries in second space heater fire

MEDFORD, Ore. A family returned home last night from shopping to find smoke billowing out of their home. When they opened the door, it was their Christmas tree that had caught fire and the flames were quickly climbing to the ceiling. The family closed the door and called 911. It happened around 7:30 P.M. on the 700 block of Nita Lynne in Medford. Medford Fire crews responded and quickly extinguished the flames. No civilians or firefighters were injured.

Three fire engines and a Battalion Chief from Medford Fire-Rescue and one fire engine and the Battalion Chief from Jackson County Fire District 3 were dispatched to the scene. Medford Fire Investigators determined it was the wiring in a live Christmas tree that started the blaze. The tree was completely engulfed in flames with a hole burned through the floor of the living room.

The family will not be able to live in the home until the damage is repaired, according to Medford Fire-Rescue. Also, in addition to the tree, all the gifts underneath of it were destroyed as well.

Medford Fire-Rescue wants to remind the public that there are fire hazards associated with Christmas trees. They encourage the public to check out their website for tips on how to stay safe this holiday season:http://www.ci.medford.or.us/Page.asp?NavID=1079

Link:
Christmas Tree Ignites; Home is Saved