William Coburn 
Dec. 20, 1993 
William H. Coburn, 76, Of Chilla Vista, Calif., Died Dec. 20 At Home.

9-to-5 Snowstorm Kept Removal Costs Down 
Officials Say Relatively 
Little Overtime Was Paid In 
Keeping Roads Clear

By SYLVIA CASTRO URIBES; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, January 06, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: RESCUE OF WOMAN
HAMPERED BY ILLEGAL PADLOCK 





WILKES-BARRE -- Fire investigators want to know why there was a padlock on
the only door to Betty Taylor's room at a Wyoming Street boarding house, where
the woman suffered second-degree burns in a fire Monday night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Taylor was listed Wednesday night in critical condition in the intensive
care unit at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fire Captain Donald Wittkopp said it's against the law to place padlocks on
the exterior of boarding house rooms. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The padlock made it more difficult to rescue Taylor," Wittkopp said.
"That's why they're illegal." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Abraham Aizelman, owner of the building, said other tenants told him
Taylor's boyfriend put the padlock on the door to keep her out of their room
after they had an argument. Aizelman speculated that Taylor got into the room
through the window. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Firefighters broke that window to enter the room and rescue Taylor, who
they found unconscious on the floor next to a burning bed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wittkopp said investigators haven't determined the cause of the fire, but
he suspects it occurred after Taylor fell asleep smoking in her bed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The three-story boarding house is a converted duplex, Aizelman said, and it
has 18 rooms. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Aizelman said the boarding house meets all codes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The building is inspected every four months," Aizelman said. "And all fire
detection devices in the building are in operating condition. I had not seen
the padlock on the door before." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 City inspectors did not return messages left Wednesday.

Rescue Of Woman Hampered By Illegal Padlock, Firefighters Say 
Tenants Told The Owner Of The Boarding House That The Woman's Boyfriend 
Installed The Lock After 
They Had An Argument

Rescue Of Woman Hampered By Illegal Padlock, Firefighters Say Tenants Told The Owner Of The Boarding House That The Woman's Boyfriend Installed The Lock After They Had An Argument