Water Damage

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. - Fire officials determined yesterday that an electrical malfunction caused a roof fire at the Great Cedar Hotel at Foxwoods Resort Casino, a spokesman said. Saverio Mancini, Foxwoods spokesman, said an electrical heating device that keeps pipes from freezing malfunctioned, sparking the fire. The fire, the second such blaze at a US hotel-casino in less than a week, forced the evacuation of hundreds of guests from the hotel. There were no injuries. Foxwoods is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.

The cause of a fire that ripped through a simulated streetscape at the studios of Atlanta filmmaker Tyler Perry may never be known, Atlanta fire officials said Wednesday. The Tuesday evening blaze at Tyler Perry Studios in southwest Atlanta will be recorded as undetermined, Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin J. Cochran said in an emailed statement. "The intensity of the fire in the area of origin consumed any evidence that would lead to a cause of ignition," Cochran said. There were no reports of injuries from the blaze that began shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday and burned through the...

The list of school building improvements for the summer got an unexpected addition with the recent break of a five-inch water pipe for Canton High's sprinkler system. School Superintendent Jeff Granatino said the break, damaged about 20 rooms but probably won't affect the Sept. 6 start of school. - Elaine Cushman Carroll

LYNN - With the arms of a friend draped over her, Kathy Blake stood and cried today as she watched massive orange flames steadily devour her unit in a Green Street building. "My bedroom. My son's bedroom. And my daughter's bedroom," Blake said, as she pointed towards the six-family building, where orange flames billowed out of every window on the top floor of the building. "They're just gone. " A moment later, Blake said her loss was greater than just the furniture in the bedrooms.

Police are blaming the theft of a water sprinkler fitting for an estimated $100,000 in flooding damage to the basement of the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. Police say about 2 inches of water covered the basement floor when workers arrived Monday. Cleanup work is continuing from damage to drywall, carpet and insulation. Hall director Lisa Klunder tells the South Bend Tribune (http://bit.ly/oSjscN) the flooding caused minor damage to some items in its collection.

One woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation after a fire in a six-story apartment building for the elderly yesterday in Charlestown. The fire at 100 Ferrin St. was reported shortly after 9:30 a.m. in a fifth-floor apartment, the Boston Fire Department said. The sprinkler system activated and put out the fire, department spokesman Steve MacDonald said. Part of the building was evacuated. Officials were assessing water damage to the building yesterday.

By Evan Allen, Town Correspondent The co-president of Wellesley's Schofield PTO said school officials have failed to address mold and water infiltration problems at the school and is calling for the firing of the Wellesley superintendent and assistant superintendent. Lana Bornstein said in a letter sent on March 3 to the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen that recommendations contained in a 2004 Department of Public Health report were never fully pursued. She alleged that the conditions at the school caused some students and...

Authorities are investigating the cause of death of a 28-year-old male whose body was found after a fire at 3 Bound Brook Court in Scituate late Monday night. According to Captain William Sestito with the Scituate Fire Department, neighbors reported hearing what sounded like an explosion at 10:17 p.m. Monday. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke billowing from the second floor of the building, which served as an apartment complex above several law offices. The fire was put out in about 15 minutes, and the victim, whose name has not been released,...

Wellesley officials said they are pressing forward with a plan to correct problems with the air quality at Schofield Elementary School that were raised in a report last month. The plan addresses 25 short-term and three long-term recommendations made by the state Department of Public Health to improve ventilation, and reduce water damage and mold problems at the school. They include revamping the ventilation system, replacing water-stained ceiling tiles, inspecting for mold, and insulating and waterproofing the wall of a wing built in 1993.

NACHES, Wash. - A massive landslide in central Washington state yesterday blocked a highway, diverted a river, and heavily damaged a home. No injuries were reported, but authorities told the Yakima Herald-Republic that residents near the community of Nile were being evacuated because of flooding fears. Several homes suffered water damage as the Naches River sought a new course around the slide. The state Department of Transportation said the slide, estimated to be a half-mile long, covered State Route 420 with at least 20 feet of dirt and rocks.

The three-story duplex on Chelsea Street in East Boston that was badly damaged in a fire Sunday, displacing dozens of people, could be salvageable, a city official said on Monday. ‘‘I wouldn't call [the building] safe, but it could be made safe," Bryan Glascock, the city's acting commissioner of inspectional services, said at the scene. As he spoke, workers were continuing to clear debris from the 7-alarm blaze at 328-330 Chelsea St., which caused the roof and a large section of the third floor to collapse and displaced 30 people, including seven children, from the...

The three-story duplex on Chelsea Street in East Boston that was badly damaged in a fire Sunday, displacing dozens of people, could be salvageable, a city official said on Monday. "I wouldn't call [the building] safe, but it could be made safe," Bryan Glascock, the city's acting commissioner of inspectional services, said at the scene. As he spoke, workers continued to clear debris from the seven-alarm blaze at 328-330 Chelsea St. that caused the roof and a large section of the third floor to collapse and displaced 30 people, including seven children, from the...

Wellesley officials said they are pressing forward with a plan to correct problems with the air quality at Schofield Elementary School that were raised in a report last month. The plan addresses 25 short-term and three long-term recommendations made by the state Department of Public Health to improve ventilation, and reduce water damage and mold problems at the school. They include revamping the ventilation system, replacing water-stained ceiling tiles, inspecting for mold, and insulating and waterproofing the wall of a wing built in 1993.

By Evan Allen, Town Correspondent The co-president of Wellesley's Schofield PTO said school officials have failed to address mold and water infiltration problems at the school and is calling for the firing of the Wellesley superintendent and assistant superintendent. Lana Bornstein said in a letter sent on March 3 to the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen that recommendations contained in a 2004 Department of Public Health report were never fully pursued. She alleged that the conditions at the school caused some...

A short circuit near a light fixture on a wall caused a small fire this morning in the administrative offices of the Boston Red Sox at historic Fenway Park. Fire officials estimated the blaze caused $100,000 in damage. Firefighters were called to the ballpark around 11:30 a.m. and found the fire, fueled by papers and other items, burning inside the mailroom on the second floor of 4 Yawkey Way. The fire was quickly extinguished and firefighters had left the scene by about 12:45 p.m., spokesman Steve MacDonald said.

Demolition crews yesterday finished leveling the charred remains of a gas-fueled fire that destroyed four Brighton businesses early Sunday, leaving doubts about pinpointing a cause. Throughout the morning, firefighters monitored the debris and extinguished several spots where flames had reappeared as rubble was hauled away. The cause of the extraordinarily smoky blaze in a one-story brick building at the corner of Chestnut Hill Avenue and Embassy Road remains under investigation but may never be known, officials said.

A small fire in the Boston Red Sox's administrative offices at Fenway Park has caused about $100,000 in damage. The Boston Fire Department says the blaze in a second-floor mailroom was reported at about 11:30 a.m. Monday. The fire was quickly extinguished. Firefighters had left Fenway less than 90 minutes after they were called. The fire department said most of the damage was caused by smoke and water on both the first and second floors. The department said archival photos were stored in the area of the fire.

Museum officials are waiting to see whether memorabilia from the classic film "Gone with the Wind" was ruined when a fire heavily damaged the facility near Atlanta where it was stored. Rebekah Cline with the Clayton County Convention and Visitors Bureau says the Road to Tara Museum in Henry County has a storage unit on the lower level of the facility, while the fire broke out on the upper level. But she says firefighters said all the units had sustained some degree of fire, smoke or water damage.