4 injured in massive home explosion, fire in Granger, Indiana

JUNE 19, 2015

 

Firefighters were called to 51444 Jodie Lynn Drive in Granger for reports of an explosion Friday afternoon.

Firefighters said three people were in the home at the time of the explosion and were able to get out on their own. The three suffered minor injuries and were taken to area hospitals.

A family member identified the three people inside the home as Michelle Ellenberger, her daughter Lauren and Lauren's boyfriend Ryan Wobbe. Lauren and her boyfriend have been released from the hospital.

A St. Joseph County Police officer suffered smoke inhalation was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

At a press conference, Assistant Chief Jaren Kilian of the Clay Township Fire Department, said multiple agencies were on scene of the explosion. It took them about half an hour to get the fire under control.

Because of the extensive damage to the home, they have not been able to get inside to assess the full damage. However, all three levels of the home were damaged by the explosion and fire.

“There is currently, right now, from my investigation of the fire, there is explosion damage on all three levels of the home which includes the basement, the main floor and then the upper level. And all the areas around the home have damage,” said Assistant Chief Kilian.

NIPSCO responded to the scene and shut off the gas to the home as a precautionary measure.

4-year-old girl accidentally shot by cop who was trying to kill the pet dog instead

A 4-year-old girl was accidentally shot by a Columbus Police officer. PHOTO Courtesy of WBNS-TV.

 

COLUMBUS, OHIO

Our brave cops at work again:  they shoot to kill anything that moves.  We feel so safe and secure right now.

A 4-year-old child is in stable condition after being accidentally shot by a Columbus Police officer, according to CBS affiliate WBNS in Columbus.

The shooting occurred Friday afternoon on Chandler Drive in Whitehall.

According to WBNS reports, the officer heard a family screaming about a medical emergency.

The officer approached and a dog came at him. Investigators told WBNS the officer shot the dog and a stray bullet hit the child.

The 4-year-old girl in being treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Warning: Even if a pool is gated and children know how to swim, they still should never be left unattended.

Orange parents of boy who drowned urge pool safety

An Orange County couple is turning their heartbreak over the loss of their son into a campaign to try to save other children from drowning.

By Eileen Frere

 

Updated 1 hr 49 mins ago

 

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) -- 

 

An Orange couple is turning their heartbreak over the loss of their son into a campaign to try to save other children from drowning.

Mother Julie Lopiccolo has found water terrifying ever since her son's death last year.

Her nearly 2-year-old boy, Jasper St. Clair, was found face down in the babysitter's family pool on March 19, 2014. He spent nearly a week in the hospital fighting for his life, before he passed away.

"Our son drowned in a pool and the reason he drowned was because that pool was ungated," Lopiccolo said.  She forgot to also say that the main reason the child drowned was that he was left unattended.  Even if there is a fence, the parents still need to attend their child.  Period.

Since her son's death last year, Lopiccolo and her husband started the Jasper Ray Foundation to educate caregivers and pool owners about the dangers of water.

"It was preventable and most drownings are," Lopiccolo said.

This year, 28 drownings or near-drownings were reported in Orange County. About half were fatal.

"Of the 6 drowning calls that we had in about a 30-day span, three of those children died," said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi. "Isolation fences would have saved all these children."

Experts say even if a pool is gated and children know how to swim, they still should never be left unattended.

"The only way to prevent it is to have somebody constantly watching a child," father Jonathan St. Clair said.

St. Clair also recommends swimming lessons as early as possible and to learn CPR.

"We hope that nobody has to go through the pain that we go through on a daily basis -- waking up every day and not hearing our child's footsteps on the floor," St. Clair said.

West Toluca Lake construction site fire sparked by demolition tool

A cutting tool used in the demolition of a West Toluca Lake apartment building sparked a blaze that spread to several neighboring buildings on Friday.

 

By Sid Garcia

 

Updated 2 hrs 34 mins ago

 

WEST TOLUCA LAKE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- 

 

A cutting tool used in the demolition of a West Toluca Lake apartment building sparked a blaze that spread to several neighboring buildings on Friday.

Authorities responded to a fire at an abandoned construction site in the 4600 block of North Riverton around 12:20 p.m.

"Because of the onshore breeze, it also extended to several of the units across the street and even the next street over," LAFD Assistant Chief Andrew Fox said.

The flames burned an occupied apartment building next door, and multiple units were on fire. The fire also spread to the roof of a third building.



Two people jumped from a balcony and were injured. One woman was in unknown condition, while another woman was in good condition and being treated for smoke inhalation.

The fires were knocked down in just over one hour by 122 firefighters. One firefighter was transported to a hospital.

At least a dozen vehicles were damaged or destroyed on the street.

8 injured after car hits storefront of Chipotle in Mid-City in Los Angeles, CA

Firefighters respond to a crash at a Chipotle in the 4500 block of Pico Boulevard in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles Friday, June 19, 2015. (Courtesy of Kevin Velez De Villa)

By ABC7.com staff 

 

Friday, June 19, 2015 04:12PM

 

MID-CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- 

 

Eight people were transported to a local hospital with minor to serious injuries after a car hit the storefront of a Chipotle in the Mid-City area Friday afternoon, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said.

The crash occurred in the 4500 block of Pico Boulevard at 1:51 p.m.

A family of four suffered minor injuries, two other victims complained of chest pain, a seventh patient suffered a head injury, and an eighth patient suffered a neck and back injury, according to the LAFD.

The car raked the glass storefront but did not penetrate the building, causing only cosmetic damage. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.