Overnight arson fire in Jamestown under investigation...
Arson is the apparent cause of an overnight blaze that's destroyed a vacant apartment house in Jamestown's eastside. City Fire Battalion Chief Don Woodfield says fire crews were called to the scene at 420 Falconer St. -- near Curtis -- just after 12:30 this morning. Woodfield says someone called in the blaze... which they found had a big head start when they arrived. He says the entire back of the building was fully-engulfed in fire, and the back part of the roof had partially failed. Woodfield says the house was listed as a two-story building... but, a third-story had been added some years ago. He says it took some time to knock the fire down. In fact... he says they pulled several hand-lines to get water on the structure quickly. Woodfield says the building had been vacant since a fire occured in the house last year. He says the city has begun tearing down the structure due to it's condition. He says an off-duty shift was called into assist at the scene, and, to man the City Hall station. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries. Most fire crews were back in station by 4 a.m. However... one crew remains at the scene while the building is being torn down.
State Seatbelt Enforcement period begins today...
Police throughout New York state are cracking down on motorists who fail to buckle up as part of a national seat belt enforcement campaign. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that the stepped-up enforcement will be in effect today through Sunday, May 31. During the initiative... state and local police will be aggressively enforcing state seatbelt laws. In addition, the state will set up message boards alongside highways to encourage drivers and their passengers to obey the law. Cuomo's office says that 91 percent of New York motorists regularly use a seatbelt, which is higher than the national average. Nevertheless, Cuomo's office says there's more work to do. New York adopted the nation's first law requiring seatbelt use in the front seat.
