Fire damages home

Fire damages home
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of a fire that damaged a home at 1018 Adams St. about 1:45 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters said no one was home when they arrived to find a fire in a second-floor bedroom. Fire damage was confined to the bedroom and hallway, although there was smoke damage elsewhere in the house.
Seized during raid
WARREN -- City police seized 517, suspected cocaine and scales from a house at 666 Roosevelt St. during a raid. Lt. Thomas Skoczylas, commander of the police narcotics unit, said police with a search warrant obtained cash, suspected drugs and a "cutting agent," used to increase the weight of the powder, last week, after a two-month investigation. Charges are pending the results of laboratory tests of the suspected drug.
Renter escapes fire
NILES -- A renter escaped injury early Friday when a smoke detector alerted him to a basement fire. Firefighters said they were called to 26 Sheridan Ave. about 1:50 a.m. after Robert Lowe was alerted to the blaze by the smoke detector in the house. He managed to escape. The blaze caused 5,000 damage. The cause isn't known but isn't suspicious, the fire department said.
Agendas, minutes online
MERCER, Pa. -- County residents can now get agendas and minutes for Mercer County commissioners' meetings online. Jeff Greenburg, the county's public information director, said agendas will be posted on the county's Web site the day before commissioners meet. Commissioners generally meet the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, and they will next meet March 8 and 22. Minutes of the meetings will be posted when they are formally approved at the next meeting. Minutes will then be archived on the Web site. To find the agendas and minutes, go to www.mcc.co.mercer.pa.us, then click on "County Information," then on "Public Meetings."
Man, 40, found dead
SEBRING -- A 40-year-old East Oregon Avenue man was found dead after a blaze engulfed his home early Saturday. Fire Chief Jim Cannell didn't have his full name when reached late Saturday, and a dispatcher said she couldn't release the name. Cannell said relatives reported the victim had been using a space heater to heat the house because the furnace wasn't working. He had been sleeping in the living room, the chief was told. A cause of the fire hadn't been determined and was being investigated by the state fire marshal's office. The house in the 200 block of Oregon was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived about 3 a.m. "No one could get in," Cannell said. The fire was reported by someone driving past. The home is about one block from the fire station.