Water Damage

laurae@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - When Jess and Elaine Mauck leave their Berkeley County home, they have to slowly maneuver their van down a long road covered with about a foot of water. It's been that way for the past three weeks for the Maucks and other residents of Horner's Subdivision, a development of about 50 homes between Shepherdstown, W.Va., and Martinsburg, W.Va. Even though flooding is nothing new to residents of the 30-year-old neighborhood, some said this year has been particularly bad, as a snowy winter and wet spring have left the ground saturated.

About 10 people were displaced Saturday when a fire of unknown origin destroyed most of a two-story house in Williamsport. The fire at 4 p.m. appeared to have started on the second floor or attic of the property at 153 N. Conococheague St., Will Ball, chief of the Williamsport Volunteer Fire Department, said. The Maryland State Fire Marshall's office will investigate the fire to try to determine the cause, he said. Nobody was injured in the fire. Ball did not have an estimate for the damages caused by the fire, which destroyed the second floor and attic and caused water damage to the first floor, he said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A morning fire Tuesday caused heavy damage to a second-floor apartment at 156 E. Second St. and slightly injured two Waynesboro firefighters, a Waynesboro Fire Department official said. The apartment is occupied by Cathy Brown. She had left for work before the blaze was discovered, said Waynesboro Fire Chief Dale Fishack. A neighbor saw the smoke in the building, which is owned by Esther Orlando, he said. Both firefighters were treated at Waynesboro Hospital and released, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Fire causes extensive damage to W.Va. home HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. - A Tuesday morning house fire on Amethyst Lane in the Back Creek area may have started when a towel laying on top of a doll house caught fire, a fire official said. Stephanie Donelson told firefighters that her children had placed a towel over the doll house, which had an electric light inside, said Brett Minnick, chief of the Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Co. The 8:10 a.m. fire destroyed the top half of the two-story frame house at 186 Amethyst Lane and caused water damage to the first floor, Minnick said.

Fire damages apartment, leaves family homeless By RICHARD F. BELISLE / Staff Writer, Waynesboro WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A family of seven was left homeless by a fire that heavily damaged two rooms of their North Church Street apartment Thursday morning, Waynesboro Fire Chief Dale Fishack said. The family - Greg and Nina Geiger and their five children, ages 8 to 17 - were being helped by the local Red Cross chapter, Fishack said. The Red Cross has put the family up in a local motel until they can return to their 109 N. Church St. apartment.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - An early morning fire Thursday caused by faulty wiring destroyed four of the 24 bowling lanes at Sunshine Lanes and Lounge near Rouzerville, a fire department spokesman said. The building at 11924 Buchanan Trail East was empty at the time and there were no injuries. Damage was estimated at $200,000, said John Fleagle, deputy chief of the Blue Ridge Fire Department. He said the cause of the fire was deemed accidental from electrical wires that ran underneath the alleys.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Water from a leaking sprinkler system flooded Shepherd College's indoor basketball court Monday, causing the wooden floors on the court to buckle, a college spokeswoman said Tuesday. About one-third of the floor will have to be replaced, although it is not known how much it will cost, said spokeswoman Valerie Owens. It is believed a pipe fitting on a sprinkler system in the Butcher Center broke Monday morning. Water may have flowed from the sprinkler system for several hours before the problem was noticed about 10 a.m., Owens said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. ? About 150 people bought tickets for Friday's matinee at the Berkeley Plaza Theatre 7's grand reopening. The theater off U.S. 11 North had been closed since last June after it was heavily damaged by fire, said Bob Elliott, owner of the theater. Elliott, who greeted moviegoers at the door for the 1 p.m. matinee, said the entire theater was damaged by water and smoke. "I like working with kids and I like dealing with people, and it's very exciting to see people come in, and they're happy to be here," Elliott said.

Hagerstown fire marshals will be interviewing witnesses and former residents of a four-story apartment building in downtown Hagerstown that was heavily damaged Monday afternoon by fire of unknown origin. "We know the fire started on the rear exterior portion of the property," said Tom Brown, Hagerstown fire marshal. It then entered all floors of the building through rear windows and spread rapidly, forcing a second alarm. The blaze, which left members of at least five households homeless, closed sections of two main streets for more than two hours.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A child playing with a lighter set a bed on fire, causing an estimated $30,000 damage to a Martinsburg duplex Sunday, according to fire officials. The fire started shortly before 1 p.m. in a bedroom on the second floor of 101 N. Kentucky Ave., said Capt. Brad Waldeck of the Martinsburg Fire Department. No one was hurt in the fire, which was contained to the home's rear bedroom and back porch, Waldeck said. It is unsure which of the two young children living at the home set the fire, he said.