W-b Crime Watches Look For Cooperation 
Group Representatives Meet To Exchange Information And Develop Common 
Policies

1 Shot Left For Back Mountain

By WILLIAM SPECHT; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, July 25, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- George Yanik was cooking hamburgers on his gas grill when
he walked away for a moment to check on his dog. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I heard this pop and saw flames shooting out from the porch," the
41-year-old Madison Street resident said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Those flames gutted his home and damaged two neighboring houses as
firefighters battled a three-alarm fire about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 No one was injured in the blaze, which was unofficially traced to the grill
on the back porch of 385 Madison St., said Assistant Chief Al Soboleski of the
Wilkes-Barre Fire Department. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The home sustained heavy smoke, fire and water damage to all floors, said
Soboleski. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's pretty well gutted," Soboleski said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yanik, who lives with his 65-year-old mother, Rita, said he will probably
stay with his brother, attorney Glenn Yanik. The home was insured, said Glenn
Yanik. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Two other houses at 387 and 379 Madison St. were damaged by the fire. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The home at 387 Madison St., owned by Ann Wolowski, sustained smoke, fire
and water damage to the attic and upper floors of the home. Wolowski, who
lived there alone, was forced to leave her home and stay with relatives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The blaze also melted vinyl siding on the home at 379 Madison St., owned by
Richard and Barbara Shurmanek. The couple was not home at the time of the
fire. Relatives of the owners said the home had just been resided about a
month ago. Soboleski said the home also received smoke damage. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gas and electric services to 385 and 387 Madison had to be shut off. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mike Conway, 44, of 598 N. Washington St., who lives behind the Yaniks'
home, said he was sitting on his couch when he heard an explosion. He said he
originally thought something had happened to his swimming pool but when he
went out his back door he saw the Yaniks' back porch engulfed in flames. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was really scary," said Conway. "The flames were shooting straight up." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 About seven firefighters suffered from minor heat exhaustion but there were
no major injuries reported, said Jim Davenport, a paramedic with
Wilkes-Barre's Medic Five unit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The fire, which was originally designated a two-alarm fire, had to be
upgraded to a three-alarm because of the need for the extra manpower. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Glenn Yanik, who grew up in the home at 385 Madison, said a lot of memories
went up in flames. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "My mother said she was born there and the family has lived there since
about 1910," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Glenn Yanik said he was on his way to Pittsburgh and had reached Interstate
80 near Bloomsburg when he heard a radio report about the fire. After few
telephone calls he realized that it was his mother's home that was burning and
turned back. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER PHOTOS/BOB ESPOSITO &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 George Yanik, 41, of 385 Madison St., holds his head as he watches
firefighters work to extinguish a blaze that Yanik said was started on the
back porch of the home by his gas grill. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A Wilkes-Barre firefighter tries to extinguish flames on the roof of the
heavily fire-damaged Yanik residence. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Blaze Ravages Home Two Neighboring Wilkes-barre Houses Are Also Damaged In A Fire That A Victim Says Began With A Gas Grill On A Porch