Watertown N.Y. Structral Fire, Arson Suspected 05.15.2012

 





Jefferson County, New York  911 reported around 3:13 a.m. recieving a call in the 200 block of High Street Tuesday morning for a structure fire at 239 High Street, Watertown, New York.

The Watertown Fire Department called for assistance from the Fort Drum Fire Department, and volunteer companies from town of Watertown, Northpole and Calcium were placed on standby at their stations.

City firefighting crews and neighboring volunteer departments responded with equipment, arriving on scene to a fully engulfed structral fire with the front and upper level of the building in flames.

The building contains eight apartments, four of which were occupied at the time of the fire.




The building was extensively damaged. Watertown Fire Department Battalion Chief Paul Fitzgerald has stated, the building is a "total loss". He also reported stated that a witness claims to have seen someone pouring gasoline on the front porch, and that the fire's location could be an indicator that the fire was set with the intention of keeping those inside from escaping.

Watertown Fire Department Fire Dale Herman stated some people jumped out of windows to escape the blaze. Three people were taken to the Samaritan Medical Center, including one person who jumped from an upper level,  the jumper was believed to have suffered only a broken leg.



Chief Dale Herman said,  "The police department's working on a number of leads and a gas can would be something that would be collected in any course in any investigation, so we don't know if it’s directly related to this fire or not, we're still trying to piece everything together."

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but police believe it may have been intentionally set. A team of firefighters remains to keep watch over the site and investigate. It's reported that a call for an arson dog to check for signs of an accelerant has been made.
 
Watertown apartment complex destroyed by fire - YNN, Your News Now

Watertown Daily Times | Sources: Man in custody in Watertown arson fire




(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Oxygen Tank Explodes In Brooklyn 2nd Alarm Fire

More than 100 New York City Fire Fighters responded to a 2-alarm fire at 2223 Cortelyou Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn on New Year Day shortly after 12:00 pm. There were nine persons injured to include three NYFD firefighter but injuries are being reported as non life-threating injuries. All who were injured were taken to Kings County Hospital for medical treatment. The fire started on the 4^th floor of the apartment building and extended up to the sixth floor. There was reported also in this fast moving fire an explosion. One witness at the scene of the fire stated, “ The lady had an oxygen tank on the fourth floor. It exploded so a lot of floors just got messed up because of the oxygen tank.” Fire officials will be investigating cause of the fire as well as investigating the explosion during the fire.

Brooklyn Fire Leaves Nine Injured, Dozens Displaced - NY1.com

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Binghamtom NY: Fatal Apartment Fire, One Person Dead In Blaze

Binghamtom New York: There was a fatal morning apartment fire yesterday that resulted in a tragic loss of life to one of the nine tenants that resided in the building. One person was found dead on the second floor.

Crews were called to an apartment building at 116 Henry St around 11 a.m.. They were able to get the fire under control quickly and most of the damage was contained to the second floor.

"First arriving companies did in fact find smoke showing from the building, made a very aggressive attack inside searching for fire, did find and knock down, I'm sad to say we did have one fatality" said Binghamton Fire Chief Daniel Thomas.

It was reported that the man who died in the fire and was a tenant of the apartment building had initially exited & escaped the burning building but re-entered to help fight the fire.

Once you have exited and escape any burning structural fire you should NEVER re-enter. In the case of this fire we will never know exactly why there was a re-enter by the fire victim, but the tragic result was the loss of his life.

No firefighters were injured in the blaze and surviving tenants were not injured also.

Fire officials believe the fire started in the victim's apartment. Investigators are stll looking into what started the fire.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)