http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100118/NEWS02/1180355
Man found dead at site of devastating fire
Rutland Herald
By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: January 18, 2010
SPRINGFIELD – A Springfield man was found dead in the rubble of his apartment Sunday morning, 12 hours after it had been destroyed by a raging fire late Saturday afternoon.
Leslie Streeter was described by his landlord Michael Woychosky of Springfield as "the nicest guy."
"He was a great tenant," said Woychosky, who said Streeter walked everywhere in Springfield since he didn't have a car.
"He had something wrong with his knee, but it didn't keep him from walking up Park Street Hill," said Woychosky.
Streeter's body was discovered after fire investigators partially demolished the home at 17 Pearl St. Sunday morning. His body was found a short distance from the front door of his apartment, according to neighbors who watched the recovery efforts early Sunday morning.
Neighbors said Streeter lived in the first-floor apartment with his girlfriend, and everyone was home when the fire broke out late Saturday afternoon, around 5 p.m.
Police and fire officials refused to confirm Streeter's identity, pending an autopsy on Monday.
But several Pearl Street neighbors, and Woychosky, the landlord, said Streeter died in the fire. He said Streeter had rented from him for four years and had lived on Pearl Street for two years. He said he believed Streeter was originally from the Walpole, N.H., or Westminster area.
Neighbor Dave Durphey, who lived across the street from Streeter, said three women escaped from the burning building, including two women who lived upstairs from Streeter, and his girlfriend.
Durphey and Streeter's next-door neighbor, Nathan White, said Streeter had handicaps, and lived on disability payments.
The heat from the fire melted the vinyl siding on a neighbor's house on the other side of Pearl Street, a narrow street near Park Street School and the original Fellows Gear Shaper building.
The two neighbors said they believed Streeter was trying to put the fire out, and that is why he didn't make it out of the building.
"I believe he thought he could put it out," said Durphey, who along with others said the fire mushroomed to a fireball very quickly.
Springfield Fire Chief Russell Thompson said the first report of the fire came from several people who called 911 at 4:50 p.m. and he said Springfield had its first fire truck on the scene within six minutes.
But, the fire chief said, the house went up extremely quickly.
"When we first got there, the house was 80 to 85 percent involved," said Thompson, who referred any comment about the investigation and the man's death to the police. "That was a huge volume of fire for that time frame," he said. He said about 40 firefighters battled the blaze.
He said the speed of the fire was surprising, since the house is in a populated neighborhood, and it was close to other occupied homes.
Thompson said firefighters didn't encounter any major problems fighting the fire and help was called in from the Chester and Charlestown, N.H., fire departments, and the Bellows Falls Fire Department covered the Springfield fire station.
According to Springfield Fire Capt. Jim Benton, a crew was on the scene all night.
An excavator was brought in Sunday morning to bring down the second story and the green metal roof, which was precariously standing.
Once the roof was down, police investigators started looking for the missing man.
Vermont State Police Sgt. Matt Nally said investigation determined that the fire was not suspicious, but the cause of the fire was not yet determined.
Springfield police issued a statement late Sunday afternoon, saying any official identification of the victim of the fire would have to wait until an autopsy and formal identification. The release said the fire was still under investigation.
The fire chief said one of the residents of the burned house was taken to the hospital as the house burned for what he termed a "wellness check" not directly a result of the fire.
Woychosky, who said he had owned the house since 2004, said he believed it was built in the 1920s or 1930s. He said he was investigating various options on what to do with the site, since the house is reduced to rubble.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100118/NEWS02/1180355
Rutland Herald
By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: January 18, 2010
SPRINGFIELD – A Springfield man was found dead in the rubble of his apartment Sunday morning, 12 hours after it had been destroyed by a raging fire late Saturday afternoon.
Leslie Streeter was described by his landlord Michael Woychosky of Springfield as "the nicest guy."
"He was a great tenant," said Woychosky, who said Streeter walked everywhere in Springfield since he didn't have a car.
"He had something wrong with his knee, but it didn't keep him from walking up Park Street Hill," said Woychosky.
Streeter's body was discovered after fire investigators partially demolished the home at 17 Pearl St. Sunday morning. His body was found a short distance from the front door of his apartment, according to neighbors who watched the recovery efforts early Sunday morning.
Neighbors said Streeter lived in the first-floor apartment with his girlfriend, and everyone was home when the fire broke out late Saturday afternoon, around 5 p.m.
Police and fire officials refused to confirm Streeter's identity, pending an autopsy on Monday.
But several Pearl Street neighbors, and Woychosky, the landlord, said Streeter died in the fire. He said Streeter had rented from him for four years and had lived on Pearl Street for two years. He said he believed Streeter was originally from the Walpole, N.H., or Westminster area.
Neighbor Dave Durphey, who lived across the street from Streeter, said three women escaped from the burning building, including two women who lived upstairs from Streeter, and his girlfriend.
Durphey and Streeter's next-door neighbor, Nathan White, said Streeter had handicaps, and lived on disability payments.
The heat from the fire melted the vinyl siding on a neighbor's house on the other side of Pearl Street, a narrow street near Park Street School and the original Fellows Gear Shaper building.
The two neighbors said they believed Streeter was trying to put the fire out, and that is why he didn't make it out of the building.
"I believe he thought he could put it out," said Durphey, who along with others said the fire mushroomed to a fireball very quickly.
Springfield Fire Chief Russell Thompson said the first report of the fire came from several people who called 911 at 4:50 p.m. and he said Springfield had its first fire truck on the scene within six minutes.
But, the fire chief said, the house went up extremely quickly.
"When we first got there, the house was 80 to 85 percent involved," said Thompson, who referred any comment about the investigation and the man's death to the police. "That was a huge volume of fire for that time frame," he said. He said about 40 firefighters battled the blaze.
He said the speed of the fire was surprising, since the house is in a populated neighborhood, and it was close to other occupied homes.
Thompson said firefighters didn't encounter any major problems fighting the fire and help was called in from the Chester and Charlestown, N.H., fire departments, and the Bellows Falls Fire Department covered the Springfield fire station.
According to Springfield Fire Capt. Jim Benton, a crew was on the scene all night.
An excavator was brought in Sunday morning to bring down the second story and the green metal roof, which was precariously standing.
Once the roof was down, police investigators started looking for the missing man.
Vermont State Police Sgt. Matt Nally said investigation determined that the fire was not suspicious, but the cause of the fire was not yet determined.
Springfield police issued a statement late Sunday afternoon, saying any official identification of the victim of the fire would have to wait until an autopsy and formal identification. The release said the fire was still under investigation.
The fire chief said one of the residents of the burned house was taken to the hospital as the house burned for what he termed a "wellness check" not directly a result of the fire.
Woychosky, who said he had owned the house since 2004, said he believed it was built in the 1920s or 1930s. He said he was investigating various options on what to do with the site, since the house is reduced to rubble.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100118/NEWS02/1180355
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