Fire Damages Transition Home in Salt Lake

A three-alarm structure fire downtown caused extensive damage to an intended transition home for homeless men Sunday morning.

The fire at 556 S. 500 East broke out around 7:30 a.m., Salt Lake City Fire Deputy Chief Dan Walker said. Firefighters arrived within minutes and found heavy fire and smoke coming from the roof of the building.

The home was vacant when the blaze started.

Michelle Templin, director of community engagement for Volunteers of America Utah, said the organization bought the home last winter and was completing the permit process to get the home remodeled. It was to house as many as 14 homeless men between the ages of 18 and 24.

Templin said the organization hopes to have the project completed by December. It would have been the second transition home created by the group, as there is one for women nearby.

"We were really excited to have one for men, and we still will," she said. "It will just take us longer than we had hoped. It's really sad, but we're really happy that no one was in the house."

Walker said crews arriving to battle the blaze confirmed there were no victims in a search of the home. No firefighters were injured fighting the fire.

Firefighters were able to keep the blaze to one building and had it under control within an hour, Walker said.

Neighbor Sean Bennett said his girlfriend woke him up and alerted him to the fire. He said alarms also alerted everyone.

"I could feel the heat coming through the windows. … It was definitely intense heat," he said.

Bennett said he had heard of the plans for the building and was excited for the development in the area. Still, he was glad no one was injured in the blaze.

"Luckily it was vacant and no one got hurt," he said. "A lot of people live in this area. I'm just happy everybody is safe. The building is a loss, but we're all safe and life's good."

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Fire Damages Old Church

Fire damaged a former city church building this morning.

The blaze was reported shortly after 8 a.m. on Ora Street at the former Ora Street Church of God, off South French Broad Avenue.

No one was injured, Asheville Fire Department Battalion Chief Jimmy Cowan said at the scene.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which started in the back of the small church. “It was out within five minutes after we got here,” Cowan said.

Jeff Tracz, an investigator with the Asheville-Buncombe Arson Task Force, said a dropped cigarette that fell on a couch caused the blaze.

A man who was in the building doing renovation work had left a lit cigarette near the couch, and it fell onto a cushion, Tracz said.

No charges will be filed, he said.

The building suffered some damage, but Tracz could not provide a monetary estimate.

The building was no longer being used as a church.

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Fire Damages Home in Kennewick

A fire at a Kennewick double-wide trailer Monday may have been started by an electrical problem, but investigators say more information is needed until they determine a cause.

Kennewick Fire Marshal Mark Yaden also told the Herald they're considering any possibility -- from arson to accidental. The Kennewick Police Department's arson detective was called out to help.

"We did clean up the scene and got it reconstructed. We can see where the fire started in the bedroom," Yaden said. "There's some electrical wiring in there that didn't look too bad but is damaged from the fire."

Electricians are being called in to help trace the circuits for investigators, he said. Yaden said they don't know if the damage seen in the wiring caused the fire or if it was damaged by the fire.

Smoke billowed out of the home at 2302 N. Utah St., where the fire was reported just before 9 a.m.

Two adults and three children who were home at the time escaped without injuries, said Kennewick Deputy Fire Chief Marvin Leonard.

One resident went to get into the shower, walked by a back bedroom and noticed smoke as the person went by the door, he said.

"They opened the door, and flames and smoke came out. They shut the door and called 911 and evacuated the residence," he said. "The house was full of a family just getting up and getting on with their day."

Flames were shooting out of the roof of the home when the first engine from the Richland Fire Department arrived. A next-door neighbor said he heard the sirens, went outside and saw the flames over the large camper he had parked in the driveway.

Another neighbor told the Herald that responding firefighters did an incredible job getting the fire out so quickly.

The Richland fire crew had the flames knocked down within three minutes of announcing on the radio that they were going into the home, Leonard said.

Firefighters knew the fire was in the corner back bedroom, so they went straight to the room and extinguished it, he said. It took about another 15 minutes to put out all the major hot spots, he said.

By 10:15 a.m., firefighters still were cutting holes into the roof to ensure the fire was out.

An estimated 21 firefighters from Kennewick and Richland fire departments and Benton Fire District 1 responded. There were no injuries.

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5/22/12 Lindenhurst Weather Forecast

Tonight: A slight chance of drizzle. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 58. East wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday: A slight chance of showers between 9am and noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Areas of fog before noon. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 67. South wind between 3 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind between 3 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 70. Southeast wind between 5 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.

Memorial Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 78.

Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

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Fire Damages Historic Restaurant in Vancouver

A two-alarm fire damaged a landmark Vancouver waterfront restaurant just after lunch hour today.

Firefighters were called to Who Song & Larry's Cantina at 111 S.E. Columbia Way about 1:15 p.m. after a report of smoke coming from the attic space. They arrived to find light smoke coming from the building, but the fire was spreading even as they parked their trucks.

Diners and staff successfully evacuated the restaurant. Within a few minutes flames erupted from one end of the roof, and a second alarm was called. In all, most of the city's on-duty firefighters were called to the scene, along with units from Clark County Fire District 6 and the Portland Fire Bureau. Portland also sent the fire boat Eldon Trinity in case the blaze needs to be attacked from the river side, but it was dismissed without using its water cannons.

By 1:45 p.m. firefighters gained the upper hand and prevented the flames from spreading, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.

The landmark Mexican restaurant has occupied a spot on the north bank of the Columbia River, just east of the Interstate 5 Bridge, for nearly 30 years, and predates Waterfront Park. It is a unit of RM Opco, which since March 12 is the owner of the El Torito and Chevy's Fresh Mex chains, among other brands.

Although the firefighters are still on the scene, it seems likely that the restaurant will have to be closed for significant repairs. The interior has suffered smoke and water damage, and some of the fire sprinklers triggered, according to radio traffic.

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5/21/12 Lindenhurst Weather Forecast

Late Afternoon: Showers. Areas of fog. High near 60. East wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight: Showers likely, mainly before 10pm. Areas of fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 59. East wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Tuesday: A chance of showers, mainly before 11am. Areas of fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 68. Southeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday Night: A slight chance of showers. Areas of fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind between 3 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Wednesday: A chance of showers between 8am and noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. South wind between 5 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 66. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 73. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.

Memorial Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

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Court Running Again Following Mold Damage

The Union Gap Municipal Court is back open Monday after closing almost three weeks ago because of toxic black mold at city hall.

Judge Bob Northcott says they're 500-600 cases behind.

During the morning session Monday, they saw about 60 people come through municipal court. On average they see only about 50 for the whole day.

The judge even postponed the lunch break to make sure they got through all the cases from the morning.

The move cost the city about $60,000 in construction costs, but Northcott says the Yakima County Fire District 11 building on Washington Avenue is working out great.

"We've had some police officers in today, just to see how things were working. Everybody feels like it's a very efficient operation," said Judge Northcott.

He says it will probably take them a few months to completely catch up.

As far as the ongoing mold problem and what's going to happen to city hall, Mayor Jim Lemon said that the council will discuss another option to buy Yakima County's Restitution Center in Union Gap.

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