Two dead in burned home near Santa Monica shooting scene | wwltv.com New Orleans

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — A fire official in Santa Monica, Calif., says two men have been found dead in a burned home near a shooting scene outside a college.

Jeff Furrows of the Santa Monica Fire Department says there was extensive fire damage inside the home, which isn’t far from a chaotic scene at Santa Monica College.

Furrows says a woman also was found with a gunshot wound in a car outside the burned home.

Witnesses at the college describe hearing numerous gunshots, students scrambling to safety and a man dressed in black being taken into custody.

An area hospital reports receiving three victims, two in critical condition and one in serious condition.

via Two dead in burned home near Santa Monica shooting scene | wwltv.com New Orleans.

The Wire: AL.com

HOUSTON (AP) — Four firefighters searching for people they thought might be trapped in a blazing Houston motel and restaurant Friday were killed when the part of the structure collapsed and ensnared them, authorities said.

At least five other firefighters were hospitalized in the blaze that became the deadliest in the 118-year history of the Houston Fire Department.

Flames were shooting from the roof of the Southwest Inn, along one of Houston’s most heavily traveled freeways, U.S. Highway 59, and black smoke was blanketing the area as firefighters tried to extinguish the fire.

Three firefighters were killed at the scene, while the fourth died at a hospital, according to the mayor’s office and a medical examiner. Five other people were injured and were hospitalized for treatment of chest pains or leg injuries.

via The Wire: AL.com.

Limo that went up in flames had extra passenger | www.ajc.com

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. —

A stretch limousine that burst into flames on a San Francisco Bay bridge, killing five women inside, was carrying one too many passengers, investigators said Monday.

The state Public Utilities Commission had authorized the vehicle to carry eight or fewer passengers, but it had nine on the night of the deadly fire, California Highway Patrol Capt. Mike Maskarich said. He did not comment on whether the overcrowding may have been a factor in the deaths.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, and the vehicle has not yet been inspected, Maskarich said.

The Lincoln Town Car was packed with young women celebrating a girls’ night out with a newlywed bride when it went up in flames Saturday night on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. The driver and four women were able to escape.

The newlywed woman was among the dead.

via Limo that went up in flames had extra passenger | www.ajc.com.

One Dead As Fire Damages Two Waterbury Houses – Courant.com

WATERBURY ——

One person is dead as a result of a fire that heavily damaged two three-story homes at Tremont and Sudbury streets on Saturday afternoon.

Fire Inspector Melvin Pierce said a man who lived on the third floor of the Tremont Street home died after being taken to a hospital.

Officials said the blaze started on the third floor of the house on Tremont Street, then quickly spread to the adjacent house on Sudbury Street.

via One Dead As Fire Damages Two Waterbury Houses – Courant.com.

Relatives: Mom died trying to save four kids killed in Newnan… | www.ajc.com

A sleepover for five children turned into a fiery nightmare Saturday after a predawn blaze at a Newnan house killed a mother and four girls who were under 5 years old.Nautica McCrary, an 11-year-old girl who escaped through a bedroom window, was treated and released from a local hospital Saturday morning for smoke inhalation. She told relatives that her mother, 27-year-old Alonna McCrary, could have gotten out, but she stayed inside to rescue the younger girls, who were spending the night together.“She just insisted she wasn’t going to let them babies go,” said Roxanne Arnold of Newnan, who said she is the 11-year-old’s aunt. “That’s what I applaud her for. She was risking her own life to get the babies.”

The children killed were identified as: Eriel McCrary, 5, Messiah White, 3, Nikia White, 2, and McKenzie Florence, who is either 1 or 2 years old.

via Relatives: Mom died trying to save four kids killed in Newnan… | www.ajc.com.