Samuel Landis, 46, the project manager for a condominium demolition in Miami Beach, Florida, was critically injured Monday when something went terribly wrong before the planned demolition of the former Marlborough House. The subcontractor on the project is AlliedBean Demolition and the general contractor is Winmar Construction, Inc.

Building demolition in Miami Beach critically injures construction worker

By: Cox Media Group National Content Desk 
July 23, 201

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -

The project manager for a condominium demolition in Miami Beach was critically injured Monday when something went terribly wrong before the planned demolition, according to police.  

Update 7:15 p.m. EDT July 23: The project manager who was injured when debris from the building demolition spread further than planned, was identified as 46-year-old Samuel Landis, according to the Miami Herald.

Landis was struck by debris Monday morning, and listed in critical condition late Monday afternoon at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Herald reported.

A search of the rubble did not turn up any additional victims.

“All of the construction workers were accounted for and as a precaution they deployed search and rescue dogs and cadaver dogs,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said, according to the newspaper.

Officials with Winmar Construction, Inc. described the incident as a “construction accident” that “occurred during the planned, approved and permitted demolition,” the Herald reported. The company referred additional questions to the subcontractor on the project AlliedBean Demolition.

“We are working closely with city officials and industry agencies to understand what happened during Allied’s demolition of the structure,” Winmar Construction president Luis Leon said in a statement.

Both Miami Beach police and the Occupational Health and Safety Association are investigating the accident.

(Original story)

The injured person was identified only as a construction worker who authorities found in the middle of the street after they were called around 10 a.m. to reports of the collapse at 5775 Collins Avenue.

The man was in critical condition at a local hospital Monday, Miami Beach Fire Chief Virgil Fernandez said. Officials were investigating reports that the man was injured by falling debris.

“We hope that this construction worker is able to make it through this,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said.

Authorities do not believe anyone else was injured in Monday’s incident, although officials planned to send dogs into the debris to double check for additional victims.

Video released by government officials showed rubble left after the building collapsed.

"Obviously something went terribly wrong," Gelber said.

The building, previously known as the Marlborough House, was slated for demolition after it was bought by a Brazilian developer, according to the Miami Herald. The newspaper reported that the 13-story building had no residents ahead of the expected demolition.

A city building official said Monday that the building’s owner requested an implosion permit to demolish it with explosives, however, the permit was denied because the City of Miami Beach does not allow for such demolitions. Officials instead issued a regular demolition permit, she said. The permit was set to expire in October.

Officials said people in buildings neighboring the one that collapsed Monday were told that the building’s demolition would begin before the collapse on Monday.

The pedestrian that was struck and killed by the 'Denver Post Special, Union Pacific's historic steam train, was taking pictures of the locomotive and apparently ventured too close to the tracks.

Pedestrian killed by Union Pacific's historic steam train on return trip from Cheyenne Frontier Days
Victim was apparently taking pictures


 



UP No. 844 was involved in a pedestrian fatality. Busses are en route to pick up guests on board the train. UP Police will be on scene for several hours assisting local authorities with the investigation.

     
July 23, 2018

DENVER, CO -- 

Investigators say the pedestrian that was struck and killed by one of Union Pacific's historic steam trains was taking pictures of the locomotive and apparently ventured too close to the tracks.

The 21-car train, being pulled by Locomotive 844, was returning Saturday evening from a day-long trip to Cheyenne Frontier Days.


The train, called the 'Denver Post Special,' because the trip was sponsored by the Post, was southbound, and had just arrived at the 124th Avenue crossing near Henderson, at 7:45 pm, when the accident happened.

UP Steam tweeted about the incident shortly afterward.

Company Issues a Response

"We are working with local authorities to see what happened leading up to the crash," said Union Pacific spokeswoman Kristen South.

The Adams County Sheriff's Office and Commerce City Police were at the scene shortly after the accident, but the Sheriff's Office said, "Union Pacific is leading the investigation."

Passengers were bused back to Denver.

The train remained at the scene for several hours.

History of Union Pacific's historic steam train

Steam Engine 844 is perhaps the country's most famous steam locomotive.

It was originally built for passenger service, operating between Omaha and Los Angeles, and Omaha and Portland.

When diesels took over, it was relegated to freight service in Nebraska.

Unlike other steam locomotives, it never made it to the scrap heap, instead it was saved and is now used as an "ambassador of goodwill" by Union Pacific.

Steam aficionados travel alongside the train, or line the right-of-way to take pictures, or videotape the excursions.

The victim was among several photographers that were snapping photos of the train on it's return trip.

To learn more about UP's steam program, click on this link. 

===============================




She Tried for a Pic of a Famous Steam Train. She Lost Her Life
Woman dies in Denver after getting too close to tracks where Locomotive 844 was rolling in


By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 23, 2018 12:22 PM CDT





Union Pacific's No. 844 steam locomotive rolls into Council Bluffs, Iowa, on June 12, 2017. (Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

(Newser) – A woman who was taking photographs over the weekend of a steam locomotive was struck and killed after getting too close to the tracks in north suburban Denver. The Union Pacific locomotive—the AP says it was a 15-car train; the Denver Channel says it had 21 cars—was returning to Denver on Saturday evening from a daylong trip to Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming when the woman was hit at a crossing in Henderson about 7:45pm. The victim was among several people taking photos of the train as it traveled back to Denver; her name hasn't been released.

"We are working with local authorities to see what happened leading up to the crash," a Union Pacific spokeswoman says. About 700 passengers were on the train, whose annual trip to Cheyenne for the parade and rodeo is sponsored by the Denver Post Community Foundation. No other injuries were reported. The passengers on the UP 844 train, said to be the nation's most famous steam locomotive, were bused back to Denver

A CSX freight train derailed at Worcester's Cambridge Street overpass Saturday morning, injuring its engineer.

Freight train derails in Worcester, injuring engineer 

July 21, 2018


By Dan Glaun

dglaun@masslive.com

Worcester, Mass.
 
A CSX freight train derailed at Worcester's Cambridge Street overpass Saturday morning, injuring its engineer.

Up to 15 train cars were thrown off the tracks, Worcester Deputy Fire Chief Martin Dyer said in an interview. The derailment involved a CSX train traveling on Providence and Worcester Railroad tracks.

The fire department is investigating and there is no ongoing risk to public safety, Dyer said. The derailment did not cause the release of any hazardous materials.

"Right now the area is safe and under control," Dyer said.

One of the train cars struck the Cambridge Street bridge and state highway inspectors are evaluating the bridge as a precaution, Worcester Police Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst wrote in an email. No structural problems have been observed so far.

The train's engineer was injured in the crash and taken to a hospital with minor injuries, authorities said.

The U.S. Coast Guard used a floating crane on Monday to raise the "duck boat" that sank beneath storm-whipped waves in a Missouri lake last week, drowning 17 people

Coast Guard Salvages Missouri Boat after Fatal Sinking

July 23, 2018

  The Coast Guard oversees the removal of Stretch Duck 7 from Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, July 23, 2018. Missouri State Highway Patrol divers rigged the vessel, then a barge crane lifted it to the surface before it was towed to shore and loaded onto a flatbed trailer for transport to a secure facility. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lora Ratliff) Stretch Duck 7 is loaded onto a flatbed trailer to be transported to a secure facility after being raised from Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, July 23, 2018. The National Transportation Safety Board will take custody of the vessel while investigations continue. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lora Ratliff)


The U.S. Coast Guard used a floating crane on Monday to raise the "duck boat" that sank beneath storm-whipped waves in a Missouri lake last week, drowning 17 people in one of the deadliest tourist accidents in the United States in years.

Workers in hard hats spent an hour or so helping divers connect slings to the World War Two-style amphibious vessel some 80 feet (24 meters) below the water's surface before raising it and dragging it, dripping but apparently intact, to dry land.

The Coast Guard said it will load the boat onto a trailer to hand it over to federal investigators.

The boat's black box, which contains video and other data, was recovered last week and has already been taken to a Washington laboratory for analysis, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

Thirty-one people were aboard the Ride the Ducks boat last Thursday when a sudden, intense storm struck, with winds just shy of hurricane strength churning the lake's waters. Fewer than half survived the accident and officials are looking into what the boat's operators knew about the weather forecast before setting out.

Among the dead were the boat's driver and nine members of a single family from Indiana. Tia Coleman, one of only two members of that family aboard the boat to survive, said in a hospital bed interview with local media that the captain had told passengers there was no need to put on life jackets.

The captain is among the survivors. He has not yet been interviewed by investigators from the NTSB, said Keith Holloway, a spokesman for the federal agency, although other Ride the Ducks staff have.

More than three dozen people have died in incidents involving duck boat vehicles in the United States over the past two decades, both on water and land.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley has said the state is contemplating whether to bring criminal charges.

Ripley Entertainment, which owns the duck boat ride, has said the boats should not have been out in such bad weather and that the intensity of the storm was unexpected.

The NTSB, which will determine the causes of the accident, will look into what the boat operators knew about the weather forecast before taking the boat out.




(Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Scott Malone and Steve Orlofsky)

THE DEATH OF FIREFIGHTER CODY BARR IN DOWNTOWN SUN PRAIRIE, WI: Michigan-based VC Tech was hired by Kansas-based Bear Communications to help install new fiber optic cable lines

Sub-contractor in natural gas explosion wasn't registered in Wisconsin
Friday, July 20, 2018 9:12 a.m. CDT


SUN PRAIRIE, WI (MetroSource-WSAU) 

State records say the contractor that struck a gas line in downtown Sun Prairie wasn’t registered to do business in Wisconsin.

The explosion that followed the gas leak leveled a city block and took the life of firefighter Cody Barr. Thirteen others were injured.

Published reports say that Michigan-based VC Tech was hired by Kansas-based Bear Communications to help install new fiber optic cable lines. It's not clear if the Michigan company had to be registered to work as a subcontractor. The company was supposed to use a technique known as directional boring to install new underground cables.

According to business records obtained by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel VC Tech, Inc. is owned by Valentin Cociuba of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Cociuba has not spoken publicly since the blast.

There were dozens of 911 calls about a strong smell of gas in the area after the gas line was hit. Evacuations were underway for several minutes before the explosion.

It still hasn’t been determined if criminal charges will be filed in connection with the blast.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed the climate change lawsuit filed against Chevron Corporation by the City of New York.

Federal Court Dismisses Climate Change Case 


The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed the climate change lawsuit filed against Chevron Corporation by the City of New York.

The decision follows the June 25 order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which dismissed substantively identical complaints that the same plaintiffs’ lawyers had filed against Chevron on behalf of the cities of San Francisco and Oakland.

The court decision addresses a lawsuit filed by the City of New York City against BP, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell that seeks to hold the oil and gas companies responsible for potential future damage to the city from climate change. The suit, filed in January 2018, claims that the companies are responsible for climate change because they produced petroleum products that others—including New York City itself—then use to carry out their essential activities, in the process emitting greenhouse gases. The lawsuit seeks to hold energy producers liable for creating a “public nuisance” by providing products that third parties employ in a whole host of productive activities.

The lawsuits, filed by Democratic Party politicians, are part of a larger legal campaign. A few years ago, a series of reports by InsideClimate News, and later the Los Angeles Times, alleged that Exxon understood the science of global warming, predicted its catastrophic consequences and then spent millions to promote misinformation. Worldwide, there are almost 900 lawsuits on climate change in 25 countries, a U.N. study found last year.

Judge John Keenan’s decision said the claims in the lawsuits, filed under New York state law, are governed by federal common law. “The City’s claims are ultimately based on the trans-boundary emission of greenhouse gases, indicating that these claims arise under federal common law and require a uniform standard of decision.”

The court also ruled federal common law provides no remedy for climate change-related injuries because, under binding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, “the Clean Air Act displaces such federal common law claims.” This is because “Congress has expressly delegated to the EPA the determination as to what constitutes a reasonable amount of greenhouse gas emission under the Clean Air Act.”

The court concluded, “given the interstate nature of these claims, it would … be illogical to allow the City to bring state law claims when courts have found that these matters are areas of federal concern that have been delegated to the Executive Branch as they require a uniform, national solution.”

The court also addressed climate change litigation more broadly. “The Court recognizes that the City, and many other governmental entities around the United States and in other nations, will be forced to grapple with the harmful impacts of climate change in the coming decades. However, the immense and complicated problem of global warming requires a comprehensive solution that weighs the global benefits of fossil fuel use with the gravity of the impending harms. To litigate such an action for injuries from foreign greenhouse gas emissions in federal court would severely infringe upon the foreign-policy decisions that are squarely within the purview of the political branches of the U.S. Government.”

R. Hewitt Pate, Chevron’s vice president and general counsel, said: “Relying on Supreme Court precedent, federal judges in both New York and San Francisco have now held that these types of lawsuits cannot proceed, whether asserted under federal law or state law. It is time for this waste of taxpayer money and judicial resources to end. Responsible leaders should engage in an honest conversation about the policy issues of climate change rather than filing lawsuits and vilifying the men and women who produce the reliable, affordable energy upon which we all depend.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has already rejected similar claims in separate cases against direct emitters of greenhouse gases such as power plants.

Two workers were hospitalized with minor injuries after an acid leak at the Superior Plastics facility in Upper Leacock Township, PA.

Upper Leacock Township, PA
 
Two people were hospitalized with minor injuries after an acid leak at an industrial facility in Upper Leacock Township, PA.

Officials responded to the hazmat incident at Superior Plastics, 110 Peters Road, midday Friday.

"The industrial facility had a 275-gallon tote of hydrofluoric acid that got punctured or compromised and created a spill from this tote," said Bareville Fire Company Chief Eddie Oberholtzer.


The incident was reported as a spill at 11:45 a.m. and upgraded to a hazmat incident at 12:30 p.m., according to dispatches from Lancaster County-Wide Communications.

Emergency personnel made sure the building was evacuated and remained outside the building until a hazmat crew arrived, Oberholtzer said.

The two employees were taken to area hospitals are a precaution, he said. Original dispatch reports indicated at least three people were contaminated and required medical attention.


Evening Update: The Latest News — The latest news headlines from across Lancaster County, delivered every evening at 7 p.m.

As of 3:30 p.m., emergency units were still on scene finishing the preliminary clean up, he said. The hazmat team was able to stop the leak from spreading.

Superior Plastic Products is headquartered at 260 Jalyn Drive, New Holland. The company specializes in vinyl fencing, railing and other products, according to its website.

Superior is a quality manufacturer and supplier of Vinyl Railing, Vinyl Fencing and Vinyl Specialty Products. We appreciate the business partnership that we can have together to present our products to the market.

Mandatory evacuation was ordered and Highway 287 was closed in Norris, Montana after Norris Lab has been flushing chemicals down the toilet

Flushing acid down the toilet: lab cleanup forces US 287 shutdown and town evacuation  July 20, 2018
By Rachel Louise Just, Reporter



Conditions inside the laboratory. Image provided by Montana DEQ.

Conditions in the bathroom inside the laboratory (chemicals were reportedly flushed down the toilet and into a septic tank). Photo credit: EPA

Conditions inside the laboratory. Photo credit: EPA

Dilapidated homestead structure containing Perchloric Acid that is exposed to the elements. Photo credit: EPA

Missoula County Explosives Ordinance Disposal Team preparing for action. July 17, 2018. Photo credit: EPA


The closure of a highway and forced evacuation of residents have shaken up the small ranching and farming town of Norris, pop. 109. The town sits about 40 minutes southeast of Bozeman, Montana.

On July 17th, residents in Norris were alerted to the efforts of a federal hazardous substance cleanup in town when a mandatory evacuation was ordered and Highway 287 – which winds through the small community – was closed.

Many of the residents likely wouldn’t have paid much attention to the cleanup at all, had it not been for a group of chemicals that were so dangerous, they had to be blown-up onsite by a bomb squad.

The environmental officials' original plan for the Norris Lab was to move all of the chemicals to a secure site in an isolated field where they would be detonated safely. However, some of the chemicals were so volatile that the risk of transporting them was too great, and experts decided to do a controlled detonation at the site of the lab.

Says On-Scene Coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Craig Myer, the chemicals are “so sensitive that even opening the container, the friction from the cap moving, can be enough to initiate an explosion.”

With the lab only about 200 feet from the town's only intersection, gas station, and highway, officials had no choice but to order the mandatory evacuation of some residents and the temporary shutdown of the highway.

Norris Labs had worked as an assay testing facility for the mining industry until recently, when it was shut down after an Occupational Health and Safety Administration inspection.

The lab was first reported by the county to the Department of Environmental Quality as an unsafe working condition. After DEQ's initial investigation and assessment, the agency worked with the owner to determine if he could hire an environmental consultant for a site assessment and cleanup plan. The owner said he was not able to do so, due to financial issues.

After determining the site to be an urgent case and too large for the Montana DEQ to handle alone, the EPA's On-Scene Coordinators were called in for an emergency response.

According to the EPA, there were hundreds of improperly stored or abandoned highly volatile chemicals (including a high number of acids) found throughout the facility and its grounds.

The owner had even made a last-ditch attempt to dispose of the hazardous material by flushing it down the lab’s toilet.

The soil around the site is now contaminated with the laboratory’s byproducts and a storm drain from the facility leads directly to nearby Hot Springs Creek.

Officials say that the efforts to clean up the hazardous waste have gone as well as they possibly could have.

Shasta Steinweden, an Environmental Enforcement Specialist from DEQ Montana, said that she was pleased with the teamwork displayed throughout the cleanup. “It’s been an amazing collaboration between the local county officials, the state, and the federal agency. So, there’s been a lot of players involved and we’ve worked really well together.”

OSHA is continuing its investigation into the facility and deciding what action to take against Norris Labs.

Though clean-up efforts will continue for the next few days, residents have all been allowed to return to their homes.

For the Norris Lab EPA site profile: https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=12770

County Ambulance of Ellsworth reached the settlement with the federal government and the state after it was accused of submitting the false claims to Medicare and MaineCare between January 2015 to April 2016

Maine ambulance company to pay $17K in insurance fraud case

County Ambulance had been accused of submitting false claims to Medicare and MaineCare

Jul 21, 2018


By EMS1 Staff

PORTLAND, Maine – A Maine ambulance company will pay a $17,000 settlement after facing accusations it had submitted false claims to Medicare and MaineCare.

County Ambulance of Ellsworth reached the settlement with the federal government and the state after it was accused of submitting the false claims between January 2015 to April 2016, reported WAGMTV.


It's alarmingly simple for someone with criminal intent to get into the medical transportation business, which could lead more regulations and less reimbursement


The civil complaint accused County Ambulance of using the fraudulently obtained funds to pay the salary and benefits of an employee who had been excluded from federal health care and MaineCare programs.

U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank noted that employee had been excluded after she surrendered her license to practice as a pharmacy tech due to diversion of controlled substances.

He added that County Ambulance did cooperate with the investigation.

Katreecea Cline, 49, of Elmwood Park, was sentenced to four years in prison for insurance fraud after she filed a phony insurance claims for losses she allegedly sustained during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Katreecea Cline, 49, of Elmwood Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of insurance fraud and fraud by insolvency Feb. 13.

A Bergen County woman was sentenced to four years in prison for insurance fraud after she filed a phony insurance claims for losses she allegedly sustained during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Katreecea Cline, 49, of Elmwood Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of insurance fraud and fraud by insolvency Feb. 13. She was sentenced by Bergen County Superior Court Judge James J. Guida.

Cline admitted she submitted fake and altered receipts to her insurance company showing that items in her apartment in Elmwood Park, in her son's dorm room in Harrison, and stored at her brother's home in Keansburg were damaged as a result of Superstorm Sandy. Cline collected a total of $53,800 on those fraudulent claims.

Cline and her husband Stevie Mitchell signed a bankruptcy claim in November 2012. They claimed they had nearly $210,000 in debt and only $36,000 in assets. She failed to report they had property interest in the outcome of the Superstorm Sandy claims and that they had an account with Metabank. The couple had $175,000 of debt wiped out.

Charges filed against Mitchell in connection with the fraudulent bankruptcy application have been dismissed.

"Today's sentencing makes it clear that we will not allow individuals to undermine the integrity of the insurance system, especially in the aftermath of a natural disaster like Superstorm Sandy," said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. "Fraudulent claims not only steal money meant to cover legitimate losses, they force genuine victims to wait longer for their claims to be processed."

=======================



N.J. couple indicted for filing false Sandy claims, bankruptcy
Updated Sep 22, 2015; Posted Sep 22, 2015
Screen Shot 2015-09-21 at 4.41.31 PM.png
Katreecea Cline, 46, of Elmwood Park was indicted on multiple fraud counts for bilking an insurance company out of $53,000, and for filing a false bankruptcy claim with her husband, Stevie Micthell. (Courtesy of N.J. Attorney General)

By Susan K. Livio

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

TRENTON -- A Bergen County couple was indicted Monday for allegedly bilking their insurance company out of $53,000 and falsifying a bankruptcy application that forgave $175,000 of debt, the state Attorney General's office announced.

Authorities claim Katreecea Cline, 46, improperly reported Hurricane Sandy-related damages to her son's dorm room in Hudson County, her apartment in Elmwood Park, and property stored at her brother's home in Keansburg from October 2012 to November 2013, according to acting Attorney General John Hoffman said. United States Automobile Association (USAA) paid Cline $53,800, the maximum allowed under her policy, Hoffman said.

Cline also reported her recreation vehicle containing $20,000 worth of construction equipment and other belongings were stolen in May 2013, officials said. 
In February 2013, a federal bankruptcy court judge accepted Cline and her 44-year-old husband Stevie Mitchell's bankruptcy application and set aside approximately $175,000 worth of debt. Stevie Mitchell, 44, of Elmwood Park was indicted for submitting a false bankruptcy application. (Courtesy of N.J. Attorney General's Office

The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined the documents submitted were fraudulent the damages fictitious, Hoffman said.

"It is extremely deplorable that this couple took advantage of a natural disaster, one that caused such tremendous loss for so many victims, to cheat their insurance company," said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. "This type of conduct drives up the cost of insurance premiums for honest homeowners." Cline was was indicted on two counts of insurance fraud, theft by deception, attempted theft by deception, and forgery. Both were indicted on counts related to the fraudulent bankruptcy.

Two more California firefighters have been injured while battling a stubborn and growing wildfire in steep terrain west of Yosemite National Park.

2 ADDITIONAL FIREFIGHTERS INJURED AT CA WILDFIRE

July 22, 2018

Authorities say two more California firefighters have been injured while battling a stubborn and growing wildfire in steep terrain west of Yosemite National Park.

Fire spokesman Rich Eagan says the firefighters were hospitalized Friday after suffering back injuries. Both have been released and are expected to fully recover.

A wildfire that killed a California firefighter grew quickly and forced the closure of a key route into Yosemite National Park on Sunday. Officials say heavy fire equipment operator Braden Varney, 36, died early Saturday on the fire line. (July 16)

A total of four firefighters have been injured and one killed since the blaze broke out July 13.

Eagan says the fire is expanding to the north into inaccessible and rugged terrain within Sierra National Forest. It has burned about 42 square miles (110 square kilometers) of timber and is just 7 percent contained. 


A memorial service for firefighter Braden Varney, who was killed while operating a bulldozer on the fire line, will be held Monday in Modesto.

THE DEATH OF NATHAN FLYNN: Lightning strike was probable cause of the 7-alarm house fire that took the life of firefighter Nathan Flynn in Howard County, Marylad after he fell through the floor

Firefighter Nathan Flynn. Courtesy: Howard County Fire & Rescue

CLARKSVILLE, MD (WJZ) — 

A house fire in Howard County had nearly 100 firefighters responding to the 7-alarm blaze around 2 a.m. Monday.

One firefighter, Nathan Flynn, was injured and taken to the emergency room where he later passed away. Officials say the 13-year veteran of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services fell through the floor.

All three people who were inside the home at the time made it out safely.

Governor Larry Hogan tweeted out his condolences to Flynn’s “family, fellow firefighters, and loved ones.”

Hogan ordered the U.S. Flag and Maryland State Flag be lowered to half-staff effective immediately in honor of Flynn.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Howard County Firefighter Nathan Flynn, a 13-year veteran of the department, husband, and father who bravely ran toward danger to save others’ lives in a seven-alarm fire in Clarksville, Md. The First Lady and I send our prayers and deepest condolences to his family, fellow firefighters, and all of his friends and loved ones in the communities he selflessly served for over a decade.
“U.S. and Maryland flags will be lowered today through sunset on the day of his interment to honor this fallen hero.”

WJZ’s Mike Schuh said the smoke was so heavy at times that it was difficult to see people standing just a few feet away.


All of the firefighters were ordered out of the home as it was hosed down in what was called a defensive posture.

According to Maryland real estate records, the house belongs to Howard County politician Janet Siddiqui, who is running for County Council. Saddiqui is currently serving on the county school board.

There was a lightning storm in the area at the time but the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

An unsupervised candle was likely the cause of a house fire that occurred on Omard Drive early Monday morning in Xenia, Ohio

Unsupervised candle likely caused house fire, exposure in Xenia, officials say
 

 Monday, July 23, 2018

XENIA, OHIO —

UPDATE @ 6:15 a.m: An unsupervised candle was likely the cause of a house fire that occurred on Omard Drive early Monday morning, officials say.




The incident was dispatched as a working fire in the 1400 block just before 5 a.m., per initial reports.

The owner discovered the fire when she returned home and attempted to calm the flames by opening a window. However, this caused the fire to amplify and expose to a nearby neighbor’s house, officials confirm.

The homeowner is being checked by medical personnel for smoke inhalation. Occupants of the nearby home did not suffer any injuries.

Damage estimates were not immediately available, though crews say interior damage is extensive.

UPDATE @ 5:40 a.m: Fire crews battled flames from a house fire that occurred on Omard Drive early Monday morning.

The incident was dispatched as a working fire in the 1400 block just before 5 a.m., per initial reports.

According to our crew, there is apparent damage to the structure that also exposed to a nearby home, causing damage to that structure as well.

We’ll continue to update this story with more details as they become available.

INITIAL REPORT

We are responding to a report of a house fire on Omard Drive in Xenia.

No other information is available at this time. We have a crew on the way, and we’ll bring you the latest information when it becomes available. 

=====================

XENIA, Ohio (WDTN) -- 

Fire officials say an unattended candle likely caused an early morning house fire in Xenia.

Crews responded to reports of a fire in the 1400 block of Omard Drive, between Richard and Conrad Drives just before 5 a.m. Monday.

When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from a single story home.

Crews were able to contain the fire quickly.

Fire officials say a woman renting the home found the fire, then opened the windows to the house, causing the fire to spread.

Medics were evaluating the woman for smoke inhalation.

The inside of the home sustained heavy damage.

A neighboring home sustained siding damage due to the fire.

The fire remains under investigation.