Fire Destroys Precious Part of Williamsport's History

It destroyed the historic landmark where the citys founder once lived, including the first and second floors. More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze for an hour before containing it. One firefighter was sent to Washington County Hospital for heat exhaustion. Residents were in tears and in disbelief of whats happened "We were able to contain the bulk of the fire to the side of the building but we do have some damage on the second floor of the building. We did keep it from getting into the attic," said JT Barns, from the Williamsport Volunteer Fire Company. The fire puts a halt on the citys plans to renovate and restore the piece of history. "We wanted to do a restoration and turn it into a living history place. We had a lot of materials and time getting ready to be donated and its an unfortunate situation," said Mayor James McCleaf. The news leaves residents upset and discouraged. "Thats awful that I see it burned like this. Its terrible, it would have made a good museum," said Bill Shank, a resident. "Im totally confused. Like I said we had high hopes for it," said Mark Beasley, another resident. City officials said all they can do is pick up the pieces and try to recover from this tragedy. "We have to step back to see what we can do with this structure," said Mayor McCleaf. The state fire marshall said the estimated cost of damage is well over a $100,000 and theres no definite cause of the fire. Canines will be used to assist with the investigation. Reported by Marie Coronel [email]mcoronel@nbc25.com[/email]" Hagerstown Man Killed in Kentucky Flight,1156939021,1156939021,"LEXINGTON, Kentucky - NBC25 has confirmed that a Hagerstown man was among the 49 victims killed in Sundays plane crash in Kentucky.