Man flicked lighter to scare cat, burned mother to death instead

A Pennsylvania man who tried to flush a cat out from under the bed caught the mattress on fire instead, killing his bedridden mother.

Lever said he had played the lighter trick with the cat in the past and, normally, the cat would be scared by the flicker of the lighter and jump onto the bed, joining his mother.

Hat Tip: Thanks, cripjak!

| Sara Shepherd

Fire causes stir (and lots of smoke) downtown Friday afternoon

 

TV newscasts ran with this story far too long on the evening news considering there were no injuries and the building was vacant, but it did provide good visuals.

|Meredith Rodriguez

Wealthy communities flee the foothills

More than 2,000 were ordered to leave their homes due to California wildfires, mostly from wealthy seaside and foothill communities. 

 |Meredith Rodriguez

Disconnected smoke detectors and an unattended grease pan

... led to the house fire in KCK that critically injured a man last night.

The man was found unconscious in the back bedroom suffering smoke inhalation. The fire started in the kitchen and spread to the living room before firefighters knocked it out.

So, moral of the story: don't unplug your smoke detectors. 

|Meredith Rodriguez

Mug shot of the day

In case you missed this link on the OT, this is what someone who would threaten to burn down a house over a dog dispute looks like.

| Sara Shepherd

Hat tip: Thanks to You're a Mean Drunk R2D2!

One dog revived, two dead

They were trapped in a house fire overnight in the Northland.

| Sara Shepherd

Man catches fire along with lawn

Happened just outside the Springfield city limits. When firefighters got there, "an elderly man was on fire and his yard was on fire too."

| Sara Shepherd

Not exactly a surprise ending

Man lights 50 sparklers at once, loses fingers.

| Sara Shepherd

Minnesota mom defrauded son of $7K while he served overseas, police say

I've heard of spouses stealing from servicemembers while they're deployed, but this is the first time I've seen a mother accused.

20 years later: Memorial planned for six firefighters killed in explosion

Before dawn Nov. 29, 1988, Kansas City firefighters were called to a blaze in a trailer at a construction site -- but they were unaware the trailer they were approaching held 25,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. Six died instantly when it exploded.

This year, the sister of one of those killed has worked hard to get part of 87th Street renamed in honor of the fallen firefighters. The street will be dedicated Saturday following a memorial service marking the 20th anniversary of the blast. The public service is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at the 30/41 Memorial site, 87th Street and Blue River Road.

| Sara Shepherd

Star file photo from the 15th anniversary memorial service.

There is a special place in Hell ...

... for someone who scams his own grandmother out of her house.

Bunny...smoke detector...same difference

This rabbit woke his owners when he sensed their house was on fire. The firefighter who rescued the pet said:

"This is the first time that I've ever heard of a rabbit bringing a fire to someone's attention."

| Sara Shepherd

Firefighters hurt in South KC fire

Five or six Kansas City firefighters suffered burns of undetermined severity in fighting a "flashover" fire that broke out in a popular corner of businesses near 75th and Wornall Road in South Kansas City this morning.

The businesses included  Kennedy's, Cafe Apanaire and 75th Street Brewery.

Use of stove for heat proves fatal

A 94-year-old Lawrence woman using her stove for extra heat accidentally caught her clothes on fire Tuesday and was fatally injured.

Cell phone ignites in man's pocket

This poor guy must be clinging to life with such extensive burns:

• VALLEJO, California (AP) -- A cell phone apparently ignited in a man's pocket and started a fire that burned his hotel room and caused severe burns over half his body, fire department officials said.
• Luis Picaso, 59, was in stable condition Monday with second- and third-degree burns to his upper body, back, right arm and right leg.

Hat tip to reader blondie2hot7!

KC mom who left kids is charged

A Kansas City mother was charged with child endangerment Sunday just days after neighbors rescued her toddlers — who had been left alone — from the family’s burning apartment.
Casey Flowers, 24, was charged in Jackson County with two counts of endangerment. Authorities said she left the girls alone Friday morning when a fire started in the kitchen area of her apartment. She returned 45 minutes after the fire was reported, but fled when she learned the girls were OK, according to court records. She was later arrested.

Hat tip to reader kmb!

Another fire in KCK: No one hurt

A fire of undetermined origin caused extensive damage to a single-story wood-frame home at 631 N. 62nd St. in Kansas City, Kan. about 2:45 p.m. today, fire officials said. No one was hurt.

Watch those candles, folks!

Four adults and a child escaped injury in this fire that started when a candle and a kerosene heater caught fire in the basement. A firefighter suffered a twisted knee. The family was just getting ready to move out, my colleague Bob Cronkleton tells me.

From the KCK Fire Department:
Date/Time: 5:06 a.m. Dec. 2
Address: 1700 N. 43rd St
Smoke/fire detectors present: No
Incident type: Single-story wood frame, fire in basement
Point of origin and probable cause: Unintentional, fire in basement, unattended candle
Estimated dollar loss: $65,000

Blunt: Group-home fire investigated as crime

The group-home fire in Anderson, Mo., is now being treated as a crime, Gov. Matt Blunt says, though he won't elaborate. Ten people were killed by the fire, and two dozen others were injured.

Fire-prone street in Lee's Summit

Comment in the open thread this morning:

• There have been 3 fires happen so far this year on NE Churchill St, in Lee's Summit. The most recent one happened this past week end. I didn't know if you had heard anything about this or if they were connected all I know is they were all w/in a quarter block of each other. And all 4-plex's.
• Posted by: ash | Monday, November 06, 2006 at 11:33 AM

Yes, ash, residents there need to put safety first -- no fewer than three fires in the past year or so, all ruled accidental, assistant Fire Chief Keith Martin told me.

The most recent blaze, which caused $30,000 damage to a $500,000 structure, started when someone put still-hot ashes from a fireplace in a bag and left it in a garage, Martin said.

The first fire, which Martin said he thought happened last year, was caused by sparks rising up from a fireplace and landing on the roof, he said. That building was a total loss, he said. He said he couldn't remember the specific accidental cause of the third fire.

No one was hurt in any of the fires.

Firefighter torches her mom's home - twice

WEST BRANCH, Mich. (AP) - A former volunteer firefighter pleaded guilty to a series of arsons, including torching a home owned by the local fire chief _ her mother.
Rita Neveau pleaded guilty Wednesday in Ogemaw County Circuit Court to three felony counts of arson. She formerly served with the Richland-Logan Township Fire Department, where her mother is the chief.
Police have said Neveau suited up to help fight many of the blazes she later confessed to setting. The fires in the area of Prescott date back to 2003 and include two at her mother's home and the burning of a camping trailer owned by her brother.
A tearful Neveau told the court she was motivated to set the fires by abuse she said she suffered as a child. Defense attorney Jon Macdonald said his client didn't mean to hurt anyone.
Neveau, 33, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison when sentenced Dec. 6.

Electrical fire destroys Raytown home

Email from reader Mr. Hand 10:22 am.:

• On my way home last night, I encountered about 4 raytown pd cars blocking off a 3-4block area near 55th and blue ridge blvd.  I saw a fire engine and fire chief for raytown rushing to the scene, I was just curious as I've seen nothing about it in the papers this morning.

A mother and her two teenage children escaped a fire that destroyed their home about 10 p.m. Wednesday. Fire officials blamed the blaze on faulty wiring in the attic.
Battalion Chief Brent Davis of the Raytown Fire Department told me the home was equipped with smoke detectors, but the woman smelled smoke first and got herself and the children out of the house.
Firefighters worked their way through lath-and-plaster to get to the fire, he said, but the house was a total loss. Total damage to structure and contents was estimated at $180,000. No one was hurt.

Arrest in SoCal wildfire that killed 5

The firefighter who died Tuesday, Pablo Cerda, 23, had burns over 90% of his body:

BEAUMONT, Calif. (AP) _ A man arrested on charges of setting two wildfires this summer is considered a person of interest in a Southern California mountain fire that claimed its fifth victim.
Raymond Lee Oyler, 36, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on two counts of arson linked to June wildfires  and two counts of possessing fire-making materials. He was not named as a suspect in the blaze that started last week and roared across more than 60 square miles, but as a person of interest. Bail was set at $25,000.

Random crime-related wire stories

Rocker faces up to 10 years in pyrotechnic fire that killed 100
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Three years ago, Daniel Biechele set off a pryotechnics display inside a small Rhode Island nightclub that ignited the foam soundproofing on the ceiling and walls and killed 100 people trapped inside.
On Monday, the former tour manager for the heavy metal band Great White faced the start of a three-day sentencing hearing. Under a plea deal, he could get up to 10 years in prison for 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter, but first, he has to hear from the victims’ families.

Saudi woman pleads guilty in slavery case
DENVER (AP) — A woman accused of keeping an Indonesian nanny as a virtual slave for four years pleaded guilty Tuesday to harboring an illegal immigrant.
Prosecutors and FBI agents accused Sarah Khonaizan and her husband, Homaidan Al-Turki, both citizens of Saudi Arabia, of hiding the woman’s passport and forcing her to cook, clean and care for their five children in their suburban Aurora home.

Spat over art exhibit of genitalia, live rat
NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for student artists whose exhibit at a public war memorial
was shut down after city officials deemed it too racy said Monday that they plan to sue on free
speech grounds.
The exhibit, which included representations of male genitalia, watercolor paintings of gay sex
and a live rat, was housed in the city-owned Brooklyn War Memorial until the city Parks
Department shut it down the day after it opened last week.

Family escapes house fire

By BENITA Y. WILLIAMS

The Kansas City Star

A family of five escaped an early morning house fire today in Kansas City.

The father, Marcus Harris, 27, discovered the fire about 5:30 a.m. when he was awakened by smoke filling the one-story home at 223 W. 77th Terr., at the corner of West 77th Terrace and Brookside Road. He then woke up the rest of the family.

The mother, Cristal Register, 24, said they saved their three children, ages 2,5 and 7, by scooping them out of their beds and climbing out of a bedroom window.

The family reported no injuries, but were searching for one of three family dogs.

Early today, firefighters were investigating the origin and cause of the fire.

To call Benita Y. Williams, call (816) 234-7714, or send e-mail to bwilliams@kcstar.com.