subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Feb 09 2010 

Published: April 27, 2008 10:33 pm    print this story  

NIAGARA FALLS: Theft nearly triggers explosion

By Rick Pfeiffer
E-mail Rick

Niagara Gazette

It sounded like a water leak, but what was happening in the basement of a Third Street building on Saturday night could have ended in tragedy.

Someone broke into 437 Third St., which houses Third Street Liquors and the Tap Room tavern, and cut both the water and natural gas lines in the basement in an attempt to steal the copper connecting pipe. The result was a basement full of water and explosive natural gas.

“Whoever did this is extremely lucky they didn’t kill themselves and others,” Falls Fire Chief William MacKay said.

A Tap Room manager contacted the building owner around 10 p.m. Saturday to report he’d been hearing running water, somewhere in the structure since early afternoon. When an employee of the building manager arrived to check on the noise, he discovered a rear door was open.

In a police report filed late Sunday morning, the building manager told an officer his employee discovered the water and gas pipes cut and found the basement “full of gas, with water on the floor.” As the employee made that discovery, the Tap Room was filled with Saturday night partiers.

The employee turned off both the gas and water and left. MacKay said that was probably not the best way to handle the situation.

“Natural gas is both explosive and toxic,” the fire chief said. “We certainly don’t recommend entering the building. They should have evacuated and called us and if it’s really (a heavy concentration of gas) we wouldn’t enter the building either, we’d call National Fuel.”

Police said crews from National Fuel were finally called to the building on Sunday to make sure the gas connections were secure. Mayor Paul Dyster, who was also at the scene Sunday morning, said the city cannot tolerate the potential for a deadly explosion from the actions of copper thieves.

“We’re going to war against these copper thieves before (their actions) kill our kids,” Dyster said. “If you get caught stealing copper, there is going to be the devil to pay.”

The incident on Third Street follows copper thefts on 19th and 20th streets on Friday and Saturday. Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, a property manager found a basement window in a building in the 500 block of 20th Street kicked in.

The manager said a quantity of copper pipe had been cut and removed from the property.

Just after 7 p.m. Saturday, a woman entering a home in the 500 block of 19th Street found a side door broken in. When the woman yelled, a suspect emerged from the basement and told her he was “hiding out in the home” and then ran away.

In the basement, police found a large quantity of cut copper pipe.

The suspect in that case was described as a black male, 6 feet tall, skinny, medium complexion, in his 40s with graying hair. He wore blue glasses, a zip-up sweatshirt jacket, dark blue shirt, black pants with stripes, dirty white sneakers and was carrying a red and black bag.

Police Superintendent John Chella said latest crime statistics show that 12 percent of all burglaries in the city involve copper theft.

“We now have two designated State Police investigators who have detailed to our detective bureau to investigate burglaries,” Chella said. “We will make them aware of this situation and every available lead will be followed up.”

Contact reporter Rick Pfeifferat 282-2311, ext. 2252.

print this story  



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Featured Jobs

Assembly
NF Co. seeking the
following:
• Packaging
• Assembly (small
detailed parts)
• Sorters
...>MORE

Administrative Assistant
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT for human services agency. Resume to: ILNC, 746 Portage Rd., Niagara Falls, NY 14301. EOE...>MORE

TOOL GRINDER & WIRE EDM OPERATOR
Tool Grinder-exp. w/contours & blades,Wire EDM Operator-5 yrs exp., 3rd shift. Pivot Punch Corp., resumes: jobs@pivotpu...>MORE

Certified Pharmacy Technician & Medication Technician
Certified Pharmacy Tech’s, Certified
Medication Tech’s & PCA’s Competitive wages. Call Lisa McKensie Ransomville
...>MORE

Cleaner
CLEANER for fleet of vehicles, seasonal,
driver’s license required.
583-9982
...>MORE

MST Therapist
Catholic Charities has an excellent professional development opportunity available for the following position:
MST
...>MORE

Cashiers
CASHIERS 
Looking for dependable people with great customer service skills to work in APlus Convenience store in Le
...>MORE

General Laborer
GENERAL LABORER to do yard work, pick papers etc. Competitive wages, 401k and medical. Apply Allied Waste Scale House, 5...>MORE

PHONE SALES
Phone sales, high profile fundraisers, great pay, exp. a plus, nice NT office, FT/PT, hrly. plus, Pete or Mike, 694-12...>MORE

Medical Associate
MEDICAL ASSOCIATE
Busy local Niagara Falls practice, strong computer skills, billing background helpful, $13-$14/ho
...>MORE

See all ads

Feature Autos

Ford 1997 TAURUS
FORD 1997 taurus, runs exc. fully loaded, must see $1400 or best offer. 205-7711...>MORE

1993 Chevy Silverado
CHEVY Silverado 4x4 1993 new alt, starter, exhaust, rebuilt trans., etc. Reliable. Call 282-0465....>MORE

Chrysler 2000 Concord LXI
Chrysler 2000 Concord LXI, 4 door, one owner, exc. condition, power windows, power steering, power locks, $5000 or best ...>MORE

1991 Lincoln Executive Town Car
LINCOLN 1991 Executive Town Car, 42k miles, no rust, runs, needs work, $600. 990-8895....>MORE

1986 Ford Mustang
FORD 1986 Mustang convertible, 5.0 body kit, 3.8L V6, 40k on new motor, runs but needs work. $700 or BO. 417-1611...>MORE

Dodge 2001 Neon
DODGE 2001Neon, 4 dr, 4 cyl, auto, 58k mi. am/fm CD player, n o rust, like new, $3950. 525-7796...>MORE

Pontiac 2000 Grand Prix XL
PONTIAC 2000 Grand Prix XL, black,
good condition
531-2669
...>MORE

1998 Dodge Dakota Sport
DODGE 1998 Dakota Sport 3.9 V6, regular cab, exc in & out, no rust, real sharp, $2750. 523-7102...>MORE

Ford 1999 Escort ZX2
FORD 1999 ESCORT, ZX2 Coupe, runs great, NYS inspected, exc. cond. $1650. 694-0441...>MORE

1999 Chevy Malibu
CHEVY 1999 Malibu, needs fuel pump, $700. 282-6141 or 990-6026....>MORE

See all ads



 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index