Solvay man goes from jackpot winner to fire victim within hours

John Mariani

The Post-Standard

May 04, 2010, 7:16AM

 

Dick Blume / The Post-StandardKenneth Lamoree, facing camera, talks to his fiancee, Sherianne Bryant, shortly after an early morning fire destroyed their upstairs apartment at 313 Charles Ave., Solvay. Earlier, Lamoree had won a $3,200 jackpot at Turning Stone casino.

 

Dick Blume / The Post-StandardFire investigators look at remains of 313 Charles Ave. in Solvay this morning. The home was destroyed in an early morning fire.

Update:

Solvay, NY -- It had almost been Kenneth Lamoree's lucky day.

The Charles Avenue, Solvay, resident said he returned to his home about 3:30 a.m. from the Turning Stone casino after having won a $3,200 jackpot.

Fortune turned to near disaster less than 75 minutes later.

A fire broke out at the two-family home at 313 Charles Ave. where he, his fiancee, Sherianne Bryant, and their three children are the upstairs tenants.

They and the family downstairs, Donna Tritten and her three children, escaped unharmed from the burning building. But the house is extensively damaged and its contents -- including Lamoree's wallet with his Turning Stone winnings -- are believed to be destroyed.

"That was bill money," Lamoree said shortly before 7 a.m. as he and his family watched firefighters work from a lawn across from their home.

The downstairs apartment entrance, the porch above it on the second floor and an attic gable were charred on the outside. Lamoree said the fire seems to have started in the first floor entry, as flames were shooting out its windows as the residents escaped.

It was Bryant who first smelled smoke and got the family up, Lamoree said. The couple roused the Tritten family and everyone got out before help arrived, he said.

The house has smoke detectors, but he doesn't remember them going off, Lamoree said.

Solvay police evacuated residents of the two neighboring houses as a precaution, Sgt. Rich Ghezzi said.

The corner with the downstairs entry porch was completely ablaze inside and out when firefighters arrived, Solvay Fire Chief Peter Woodworth said. That left them no choice but to fight the fire from the outside in, to safeguard the firefighters and neighboring properties, he said.

It took about 15 minutes to knock down the fire and another 45 minutes to completely extinguish it, he said. It did not spread past the building, but the heat from it was intense enough to melt plastic blinds in windows in the house next door.

We earlier reported:

 
Solvay, NY -- Nine people were driven out of their two-family home this morning by a fire that extensively damaged the structure, officials said.

No one was injured escaping or fighting the blaze that broke out sometime before 4:43 a.m. at 313 Charles Ave., Solvay, said Pete Alberti, Onondaga County Emergency Management commissioner.

The residents all got out before firefighters arrived, Alberti said. Their names were not immediately available.

It took about an hour for firefighters from five departments to get the fire under control, Alberti said. By the time it was out the structure had sustained extensive damage and most its contents likely had been destroyed, he said.

The fire's cause is under investigation, Alberti said.Officials also are looking for two pet cats that went missing during the fire, Alberti said.

Solvay, Fairmount, Taunton, Lakeside and Onondaga Hill firefighters were at the scene. Rural Metro ambulance also responded and the Red Cross was there to provide emergency aid to the victims, Red Cross spokesman Dick Blansett said the residents probably will require shelter and other services from his organization.