Space heater caused fatal fire in Columbus

Space heater caused fatal fire in Columbus

COLUMBUS

Authorities say a space heater was the cause of a house fire that killed an 85-year-old man in Columbus last week.

City Fire Battalion Chief Tracy Smith said a space heater was too close to flammable materials, which then ignited. Everett Glass died in the fire in the two-story house in the Franklinton neighborhood March 6.

Smith tells The Columbus Dispatch that Glass apparently tried to extinguish the flames but was overcome by smoke. The house didn’t have smoke detectors.

Smith said the man’s live-in caretaker had left to run an errand and noticed smoke in the house shortly after she returned. She tried unsuccessfully to get him out of the house.

Waste authority to close Ohio golf course built on landfill

COLUMBUS

A central Ohio waste authority has decided to close a golf course built on a former landfill in Jackson Township south of Columbus.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio bought out the former owners of Phoenix Links about a year ago for $2.3 million and has been unsuccessful in finding a company to assume management.

When methane gas was discovered to be leaking from a containment system, the waste authority and golf course operator argued about who should pay for repairs. The waste authority sued the operator in 2012 and settled two years later by buying out the operators 30-year lease.

The newspaper reports that SWACO officials say the agency needs to spend about $1.8 million to repair the containment system.

Loaded gun found in airport passenger’s carry-on bag

COLUMBUS

Authorities say security workers at a central Ohio airport found a loaded handgun in a passenger’s carry-on luggage.

A statement from the Transportation Security Administration says officers at a checkpoint at Port Columbus International Airport discovered the 9mm Glock firearm in a bag early Friday.

Airport police took the bag. No information about the passenger was released, and there was no word on whether the passenger might face any charges.

Such firearms are prohibited in carry-on luggage but can be included in checked bagged under certain restrictions.

It is the fifth time so far this year that TSA officers have found a firearm at a checkpoint at the Columbus airport. That happened 16 times last year.

Associated Press