William Jones Jr.

2001 College Misericordia Graduates

@BYLNBy MICHAEL McNARNEY and KALEN CHURCHER
mmcnarney@leader.net kchurcher@leader.net
 Monday, May 21, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE - The brick walls of an abandoned silk mill disintegrated Sunday
as a fast-moving fire destroyed the South Franklin Street building. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There were no injuries reported. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While not calling the fire arson, Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Jay Delaney
said electricity and gas had long been disconnected to the building and
investigators are ``aggressively pursuing'' the case. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Anthony George said detectives were talking with
neighborhood children about reports that two kids were seen running from the
building shortly before the fire started. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The building, at 731 S. Franklin St., was vacant. A sign on the building
said FNT Raffle America and also listed the name Panam, the company that last
operated the silk mill. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Flames shot through the three-story mill's roof as thick, black smoke
blanketed the South Wilkes-Barre neighborhood. The plume of smoke was visible
from Pittston. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hundreds of onlookers gathered in the Schiel's Family Market parking lot to
watch firefighters from Wilkes-Barre, Kingston and Hanover Township fight the
blaze. When a two large parts of the building collapsed unexpectedly, the
crowd was ordered farther away from the structure. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Delaney said the collapse kept firefighters outside. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Thank God we didn't go in,'' Delaney said. ``The roof collapsed 20
minutes into the fire. Imagine what would have happened if we'd had
firefighters in there.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sue Stefanovich, of 113 Westminster St., said she called 911 just before
2:30 p.m. Stefanovich and her two sons were working in their yard - across the
street from the rear of the mill - when they smelled smoke. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It started smelling really bad,'' Stefanovich, 33, said. ``When I turned
around, there was the smoke and the flames coming out of the building.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stefanovich ran across the street to warn the Price family, who lives at
114 Westminster. The Price's lot backs onto the mill, with their garage just
10 feet from the building. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ken Price said his home was safe, but filled with smoke, and that
firefighters told his family to stay elsewhere Sunday night. He said the
mill's wall collapsed onto his garage, destroying it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On the South Franklin side, bricks fell from the building until city worker
Steve Blaine drove up with an frontloader equipped with a battering ram. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Blaine knocked the walls down, exposing the fiery infrastructure, until the
battering ram broke off. City workers retrieved the ram from the rubble to
weld it back on. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Delaney said every city firefighter was called to the scene, on- and
off-duty. Fifty-four firefighters and six paramedics responded, as did
firefighters from other municipalities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Delaney said eight firefighters would remain at the mill overnight, to put
out small fires. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police said Melissa Major, age and address unavailable, was charged with
running over a fire hose and for not obeying a lawful traffic direction after
she ran over and split a five-inch hose on Hanover Street, just south of South
Main Street, when the blaze was under control. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Major, a driver for Burgit's City Taxi, said she was on her way to Schiel's
to pick up a fare when she came upon the scene. She said she did not think the
fire hose would be damaged, so she drove over it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I came all the way (down Race Street) from Wood Street,'' Major told
police as her ticket was written. ``Nobody directed me that I couldn't come
through.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police said there were barricades blocking the intersection, but Major
drove past them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Electrical power to local residents was cut at the scene, but was restored
shortly after 4:40 p.m., according to police. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Abandoned Silk Mill Destroyed By Blaze