Vehicle fire damages garage, house

Police, fire log

Sunday News

Published: Sep 14, 2008
00:14 EST

By STAFF

An early morning vehicle fire damaged an East Hempfield Township home Saturday.

County radio dispatchers reported the blaze at Nissley Road and Kings Lane at 4:53 a.m.

Brian Rhodes, chief of the Hempfield Fire Department, said an electrical short in the car apparently sparked the blaze. The car was parked in the garage.

The fire spread to the garage, which is attached to the house.

Both the 2 ½-story home and the car belong to Nicole Hundley, Rhodes said.

"She had just bought the house and was in the process of moving in," added Rhodes, who reported a total of $90,000 of smoke and fire damage.

A neighbor, John Blough, said he heard an explosion that "almost sounded like fireworks."

Blough said he thought the sound was the car's tires exploding. Blough also reported seeing a "ball of orange flames" and said firefighters were quick to arrive on the scene.

The house sustained damage to the roof, and several windows were broken. Dispatchers said the blaze was under control by 5:45 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Responding to the blaze in addition to Hempfield were firefighters from Rohrerstown, East Petersburg, West Hempfield, Maytown and Mountville.

•Also, firefighters were dispatched to Toys R Us, Harrisburg Pike, around 9:20 a.m. Saturday after reports of smoke at the building, according to county radio dispatchers. There was no fire.

FORGED: New Holland police said Saturday they filed charges of "altered, forged or counterfeit documents and plates" against Melissa McAnany, 23, 1400 block of Manor House Lane, in connection with a Sept. 5 traffic stop in the 700 block of West Main Street, Earl Township.

ALUMINUM THEFT: A window was broken at a home in the first block of Kimberly Drive, Providence Township, sometime between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, State Police at Lancaster reported Friday. The thief removed 82 feet of aluminum gutter, police said. Anyone with information may call police at 299-7650.

CRASHES: State Police at Lancaster reported that a car driven by Jeffrey Doll, 46, Lancaster, struck a dump truck driven by Ryan Hastings, 24, Peach Bottom, at routes 372 and 896 at 6:50 a.m. Thursday.

Police said Doll failed to make sure the road was clear before pulling into the intersection, which was marked by a flashing red light.

No injuries were reported.

•Rodney M. Martin, 18, Myerstown, was northbound on Route 501 at 2:22 p.m. Friday when his vehicle rear-ended a Chevrolet stopped at a red light  just south of Brubaker Valley Road, State Police at Ephrata said.

The impact pushed the Chevrolet, driven by Edward D. Hobbs, 51, of Plymouth, into a vehicle operated by Alta G. High, 37, of Lititz, police said. No injuries were reported.

DISTURBANCE: West Hempfield Township police reported that Matthew Hoffman, 23, and William Markley, 31, both of Columbia, were cited for disorderly conduct and reckless driving at the Columbia Bowling Center parking lot, South 16th Street, at 1:44 a.m. Friday.

Police said the two men were racing  and spinning their tires.

DUI: John Aubrey Barbour, 54, Rising Sun, Md., was stopped by State Police at Lancaster at 7:31 p.m. Friday at Little Britain and Green roads, Little Britain Township, and arrested after it was determined he was intoxicated.

•State Police at Lancaster reported that Walter Elbert Smith Jr., 38, Christiana, was stopped by police on Route 272, near Scotland Road, East Drumore Township, for erratic driving at 1:59 a.m. Saturday. He was found to be under the influence of alcohol and arrested, police said.

•Judith Ann Kauffman, Atglen, was stopped for a vehicle code violation by State Police at Lancaster at 1:15 a.m. Saturday at Route 41 and Simmonstown Road, Sadsbury Township. Police said she was found to be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and arrested for DUI.

•A girl from Ephrata was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants after a one-car crash on Furnace Hills Road in Clay Township at 12:02 a.m. Saturday, Ephrata State Police said. She was uninjured but found to be intoxicated when police investigated the crash.

STOLEN: An electric generator and an air compressor were taken from Rohrer's Construction,  Manheim, sometime Thursday, West Hempfield Township police reported. A lock was cut at a job trailer in the 4600 block of Marietta Avenue, where the equipment had been stored.

•A Columbia man reported to State Police at Lancaster that items were taken from his car while it was parked at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, 750 E. King St. The theft happened sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. Thursday, police said.

•New Holland police investigated the theft of wire from a home construction site in the 200 block of  Locust Street Tuesday. Contractors discovered coating had been removed from the wire.

STUCK: County radio dispatchers reported that several people were stuck in an elevator around 10 a.m. Saturday at Bright Side Baptist Church, Hershey Avenue and Wabank Street.

VANDALISM: A New Holland Borough man reported to police that  a brick was thrown through the window of his vehicle sometime Tuesday. The vehicle was parked in the 100 block of East Franklin Street.

CAR STRIKES MAN: Multiple charges were pending against a 50-year-old New Holland woman after her vehicle hit a pedestrian in the borough Saturday.

New Holland police said Pauline Zwally, of the first block of Brimmer Avenue, was in a car that struck Charles Donahue shortly before 1 p.m. in the 300 block of West Main Street.

The vehicle was exiting a parking lot at Palermo's Pizza when the incident happened, police said.

Officers Jed Custer and Troy Deshong investigated. Custer traced the car to the Zwally residence, where he also found Zwally and two intoxicated 14-year-old boys who had been in the vehicle with her, police said.

The boys were to be sent summonses for underage drinking, police said.

Zwally was intoxicated and was taken to Ephrata Community Hospital for a blood alcohol test, police said.

Donahue, 60, of the 300 block of West Main Street, was hurt, but refused emergency medical treatment at the scene, police said.

•State Police at Ephrata are looking for the driver of a car that left the road  in the 400 block of Snavely Mill Road, Elizabeth Township, at 4:45 p.m. Friday, and struck a shrub and a set of large wooden steps before fleeing north on Sleepy Hollow Road.

PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS: Charles Kneedler, 39, of Riverside Avenue, was cited for public drunkenness shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday in the 400 block of Lafayette Street, police said.

ASSAULT: A 14-year old city boy was charged with aggravated assault for pushing a teacher and refusing to leave McCaskey High School, 445 N. Reservoir St.,  during a fire drill Friday afternoon, police said. The boy repeatedly used profanity and his actions prevented other students from leaving the building, according to police.

RETAIL THEFT: Megan L. Denlinger, of the 400 block of Clearfield Road, Holtwood, was charged with retail theft and violating the controlled substances act Friday, police said.

Police accused her  of trying to steal merchandise valued at $122 from the Boscov's store at Park City at 2:46 p.m.

She was found to be carrying four bottles containing unidentified pills and suspected marijuana in her purse, police said.