Blaze strikes at Edinburgh Castle
Tuesday, 5 June, 2001, 13:54 GMT 14:54 UKFire crews were called to Edinburgh Castle to tackle a blaze in a roof space. Five vehicles attended to deal with the fire, which was discovered shortly before 1230 BST on Tuesday. An Army spokeswoman said that only minor damage had been done to the building, which is used as an accommodation block. The incident did not prevent tourists from visiting the rest of the castle. It is understood that work was being carried out on the roof using blow torches. A total of 35 fire fighters were called to deal with the blaze. A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade said it had received the call at 1227 BST. Assistant Divisional Officer Jimmy Woods said: "When we turned up there was a fire inside the roof space of the accommodation block. "We had to get fire fighters up on to the roof and we cut into the roof to extinguish the fire with a hose reel. "They also broke in underneath from the ceiling and we are currently cutting away at about 30 sq m of timber roofs "This is to ensure the fire does not spread inside." Mr. Woods said it was too early to tell what had caused the fire. He added: "There is damage to about 30 sq m of the roof and ceiling including severe fire damage within the roofing."
From BBC News via FireNet http://www.fire.org.uk/news.htm
Art a steal of a deal -- literally
By KEN CARLSONBEE STAFF WRITER
(Published: Saturday, August 11, 2001)
They were the kind of deals worthy of the "Antiques Roadshow." A guy with no appraisal training pays $30 for an art piece worth thousands of dollars. Such deals have been made in San Joaquin County recently for genuine antiques and art pieces from exotic corners of the world. In at least one case, a buyer paid $30 for an armful of works by top artists and antiques. It turned out, however, that the merchandise was spoils of a home burglary in Escalon that netted $100,000 in collectibles. Sheriff's detectives this week recovered about half the stolen property. The rest is still out there -- but buyer beware.
"We know of three different people who bought the stolen property," sheriff's spokeswoman Nelida Stone said. It appeared that buyers made an effort to find out if the items had been stolen, she added. So they will not be charged with possessing stolen property. One suspect in the burglary is in custody on an unrelated charge, Stone said, and detectives were close to identifying a second person. Authorities would not release their names for fear of jeopardizing the investigation.
The burglary occurred May 29 at a home on Von Glahn Road. The intruders came in through a bathroom window and ransacked the home. They then went out the front door with dozens of rare figurines, sculptures and collectibles. They also took clothing, appliances, guns and televisions. "He had quite a large collection," Stone said of the homeowner.
Intruders ill-informed on value
The burglars, however, apparently were amateurs because they left behind other valuables. And most of the property was later sold for a fraction of its worth. Detectives this week recovered goods worth about $50,000 from homes in Manteca and Stockton. The people in those homes had come into contact with the items through "a friend of a friend," Stone said. And they paid a pittance. "We know that one group of items was sold for $30," Stone said. The Sheriff's Department displayed the items Friday in an evidence room that suddenly took on the air of a museum. The items included a statue of two wild boars worth $6,000; a bronze African head, a brass rhino, a statue of a Western rider, a silver covered yo-yo and a clown figurine. Tags indicated that most of the pieces were worth more than $1,000 each. The owner is a collector who gave detectives a detailed list of the missing pieces.Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at 239-2152 or kcarlson@modbee.com.
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