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Fire damages apartment in Pontiac
By Tony Sapochetti
tsapochetti@pantagraph.com
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PONTIAC -- A small fire at a Pontiac apartment was quickly extinguished after a neighbor noticed something unusual.

“I was outside and then I started to smell smoke,” said Levi Brooks, 11, who lives in the same apartment building at 215 W. North St. “Then I started to see smoke and then I heard the alarm go off.”

After Brooks noticed the signs of the fire, he quickly told his aunt, Linda Korrecta, who also lives in the building, and she dialed 911. Pontiac firefighters and police and Duffy Ambulance Service were on the scene within minutes.

No one was inside the apartment, rented by Virginia Torrez and owned by John Woodburn, and only a small amount of smoke damage could be seen above the window.

Pontiac Fire Chief Dennis McDugle said a candle was left burning on a table about a 1½ feet away from an open window. A breeze caused the curtains of the window to get near the flame and catch on fire.

“It could have been a lot worse and we told her not to burn any more candles,” McDugle said.

Torrez said she was only gone for about five minutes when the fire happened, and she is thankful for Brooks and Korrecta for noticing the fire when they did.

Pizzeria fire

This fire occurred less than a week after the Sept. 8 fire that destroyed Joe’s Station House Pizza on 726 W. Howard St., and Pontiac firefighter Todd Tissiere said the cause of that fire remains undetermined.

There is nothing suspicious about that fire, and the cause appears to have been accidental, he said.

“We do know that the fire started from in or above the kitchen, but because of the severity of the damage it is really hard to tell,” he said.

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Reader comments on this story - 6 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

TJA wrote on Sep 15, 2007 6:15 PM:

" Once again, Joe's is good if you like your system flushed. Pizza in a box is better. "

Good Luck wrote on Sep 14, 2007 5:07 PM:

" Hey Steve, good luck getting opened soon we will all be pulling for you. Thankfully Pontiac is lucky enofe to have alot of great pizza places to pick from, and yours will be missed untill you can open better then ever. "

PIZZA LOVER wrote on Sep 14, 2007 8:38 AM:

" I LIKED JOE'S PIZZA. IT WASN'T AS GOOD AS MINE BUT RAN A CLOSE SECOND. HA. "

A Fan of Joes wrote on Sep 14, 2007 8:24 AM:

" The best Pizza in town I think not!!! "

A Fan of Joes wrote on Sep 13, 2007 8:56 PM:

" Joe's had/has the best pizza in Pontiac! I hope they re-build and re-open soon!! "

Mr Farmer City wrote on Sep 13, 2007 7:20 PM:

" I am glad to see a follow up on the pizzarea inferno. I would like to again say that the food wasn't that great and the parking left everything to be desired. No big loss. I am sympathetic to the owners and I hope the next months go by smoothly and their insurance company gets them back on their feet soon. "
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