Pittsfield, PA man killed in house fire; wife and another person inside escape serious injury...
A Warren County, Pennsylvania man has died after getting his wife out of their burning home... and, then trying to put the blaze out. State Police in Warren say 61 year-old Darwin Durlin of Barton Run Road in Pittsfield Township was unable to get out of the house as flames engulfed the structure. Troopers say Durlin helped his wife from the residence when the fire broke out between 1 and 1:30 a.m. Monday. Police say Barton's wife suffered minor injuries... and, was taken to Warren General Hospital... where she was treated and released. Another male inside the home got out safely. He was not hurt. However... Garland and other fire crews were unable to rescue Barton. The State Police Fire Marshall is still investigating the cause.
Flames destroy large house in town of Gerry...
An electrical problem is being blamed for a blaze early this morning that's destroyed a large, single family home on Route 380 in the town of Gerry. Gerry Fire Chief James Miller says the initial alarm was called in just after 2:30 a.m. Miller himself lives near the 4069 Route 380 address... and, he says the house was fully-ablaze -- from ground to roof -- when he left his house... and, he called for mutual aid. Miller says he made contact with the owner to make sure everyone was out of the house safely, and he then called in mutual aid... especially tanker trucks to bring water to the scene. Miller says about a dozen mutual aid companies assisted in battling the flames. The owner got out okay... and, one firefighter suffered a minor injury. The owner was the only person inside the house. The local Red Cross is helping that individual. Miller says they brought in an excavator to help deal with hot spots. He says they set up a shuttle from two ponds to get water to the scene... and, because of that... a stretch of Route 380 from Kimball Stand to Towerville Road was closed for a few hours.
Cuomo to present budget proposal Tuesday that promises to balance tax breaks with surpluses...
Governor Cuomo will present an ambitious budget proposal this week that promises to turn deficits into surpluses even as he doles out tax breaks. One trick will be doing it in a time of slow economic growth. Cuomo has said that the state can amass its first budget surpluses in years as long as lawmakers agree to limit spending increases to 2-percent. The governor said that would allow surpluses to grow to $2-billion in three years. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says that so far this year, New York's overall tax collections of $49-billion are up 5.6 percent, but still below projections. The Cuomo administration expects revenue to grow faster than 2-percent, meaning spending growth below that level will lead to surpluses.
