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ROTTERDAM
Blaze leaves family without a home
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

    Fire ripped through the attic crawl space of a Helderberg Avenue house Tuesday afternoon, slightly injuring one woman and leaving a family of seven people homeless.
    Schenectady County Fire Coordinator John Nuzback said that the fire was first reported just before 2 p.m., when Rotterdam dispatchers received numerous 911 calls indicating people trapped in a burning residence.
    Crews from the Carman Volunteer Fire Department arrived to find flames shooting from the roof vents of the two-story brick house at 1924 Helderberg Ave.
    “The fire appears to have started in the attic area,” he said at the scene.
    Nuzback said all of the home’s seven residents — including four young children — were able to flee the burning building before fire crews arrived. He said the woman sustained a minor cut during the fire but refused medical attention.
    Firefighters later rescued a pair of pet rabbits and a bird from the house.
    Crews were able to get the blaze under control in about 10 minutes but battled stubborn hot spots in the roof for nearly an hour.
    Fire police shut down Helderberg Avenue from the Curry Road intersection to Priscilla Lane, about a quarter-mile.
    Nuzback said that the family would not be able to return to the house, which sustained significant smoke and water damage on the second floor. He said the family had indicated they might stay with a local relative, but the Red Cross was contacted just in case.
    Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fi re. Nuzback said the home was equipped with fire alarms, but he was unsure if they were functioning.
    “They were in there, but they didn’t hear them go off,” he said.
    The identity of the family was not released.

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ROTTERDAM
Pot light blamed in fire; charges filed
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Police arrested a Rotterdam man on felony endangering charges, alleging that his marijuana growing operation ignited an attic fire that seriously damaged the roof of his Helderberg Avenue residence.
    Earl J. Simard, 33, of 1924 Helderberg Ave., was arraigned on a first-degree reckless endangerment charge in Town Court and ordered held without bail Tuesday. The charges stem from the danger his suspected marijuana cultivating operation posed to the home’s other residents — including four young children — when a malfunctioning grow lamp touched off a fire near an upstairs bedroom.
    Lt. Jason Murphy was unsure how many plants were being cultivated, but said the operation wasn’t sophisticated. He said many of the plants were significantly damaged by the blaze.
    “There are going to be additional charges,” he said Wednesday. “The investigation is ongoing.”
    Crews from the Rotterdam Fire District 2 were called to Simard’s home after reports of smoke pouring from the roof vents of the twostory brick house. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control in about 10 minutes.
    All of the home’s seven residents were able to flee before fire crews arrived. Firefighters later found numerous high-intensity lights, space heaters and several potted marijuana plants in a crawl space.
    “A fluorescent light failed behind a knee-wall,” county Fire Coordinator John Nuzback said.
    Murphy said Simard is likely to face a misdemeanor public health law violation for illegally growing marijuana. He is scheduled to reappear this evening.
    Town records don’t list Simard as the owner of 1924 Helderberg Ave., and police were unsure of his relation to the other six residents of the home.

Repost police to the rescue
http://www.rotterdamny.info/m-1222906621/

Brrrrriiiillllliant!!!!......until, his light went out........ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ..................