House fire in Clarence causes $500,00 damage
Flames ripped through a Clarence home Sunday morning, causing $500,000 damage to the building and its contents.
The house at 4694 Sawmill Road, which is owned by musical entertainer John Valby, was engulfed in flames when Clarence firefighters arrived on the scene at about 9:30 a.m. Valby is known throughout Western New York and nationally as “Dr. Dirty,” for his off-color jingles and musical performances.
Occupants of the home were able to get out and report the fire in the house.
About half the house was ablaze as firefighters arrived. They tried to attack the fire by going inside the home, but heavy fire and smoke forced firefighters to douse the intense flames from the outside.
It took about two hours to get the fire under control, and firefighters stayed at the scene longer for salvage operations.
The Erie County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the cause of the blaze. Clarence firefighters were assisted by four other area volunteer agencies.
Adjacent homes damaged in fire on West Side
Firefighters Sunday morning battled a two-alarm blaze that caused $150,000 damage to two homes on the city’s West Side, according to a Buffalo fire official.
The fire started at 1054 West Ave., a vacant, 2½-story home between Auburn and Lafayette avenues, and was reported at 3:22 a.m.
The fire caused $75,000 damage to 1054 West before spreading to 1056 West, another 2½-story home occupied by four adults at the time. The blaze caused $50,000 damage to the structure and $25,000 damage to its contents.
No injuries were reported, but the Red Cross was assisting the four occupants of 1056 West. Fire investigators were probing the cause of the fire.
Shotgun blast claims life of man on East Side
A Buffalo man shot Sunday morning at Carl Street and East Delavan Avenue on the East Side died later in the day in Erie County Medical Center.
Buffalo police did not release the name of the man, who is believed to be in his mid-30s.
The shooting occurred at about 10:30 a.m. The man apparently was hit by a shotgun blast from a passing vehicle, according to a police spokesman.
Anyone with information is asked to call or text the confidential tipcall line at 847-2255.
Drive-by shootings leave several people injured
Gunfire continued to erupt Sunday in Buffalo, with two or three people being shot at about 6:45 p.m. in a drive-by shooting in the 100 block of Playter Street.
The incident was the city’s third shooting in less than 24 hours, including a shotgun blast from a passing vehicle at Carl Street and East Delavan Avenue that killed a Buffalo man and a spray of gunfire that injured two people stepping out of a party bus near McCarthy Park.
The injuries in the Playter Street shooting appeared to be minor, and all of the victims were taken to Erie County Medical Center.
Two men were shot at about 4:15 a.m. near McCarthy Park in the 200 block of Manhattan Avenue, near Amherst Street.
Damone Wiggins, 31, was shot in the chest and was in stable condition in Erie County Medical Center.
Richard Young, 22, who was shot in the left thigh, was treated and released.
Detectives were interviewing a person of interest in the shooting.
UB student hit by car is in critical condition
A 21-year-old University at Buffalo student was in critical condition late Sunday in Erie County Medical Center after being struck by a car in the University Heights neighborhood.
The accident happened at about 1 a.m. Sunday on Winspear Avenue, near Main Street.
A car heading east on Winspear hit the man, who had walked out into the street, according to a Buffalo police spokesman. The driver of the vehicle has not been charged.
The Spectrum, a student-run newspaper at UB, identified the victim as Tyler Loucks, a senior geography major.
Pharmacy broken into in Orchard Park
A burglar broke into a Village of Orchard Park pharmacy early Sunday in an apparent attempt to steal prescription drugs, town police reported.
Surveillance video shows that a man pried open a door to the Anthony-Brown Pharmacy, 4328 S. Buffalo St., at about 12:30 a.m. It’s not known if anything was taken.
Police said the burglar was a white man, between 5 feet, 10 inches and 6 feet tall, about 190 to 200 pounds, with short brown hair. He appeared to be carrying a delivery bag used by a pharmacy or similar business and was wearing khakis, a dark-colored, long-sleeve T-shirt and baseball cap. Anyone with information is asked to call the detective bureau at 662-6475, Ext. 4018.
