Construction Maison

An apartment fire that claimed a woman’s life on Columbus’ north side started from discarded smoking materials or falling asleep while smoking in bed. The victim of the 2:47 p.m. Monday fire at the Canterbury House Apartments , west of Candlelight Village, has been identified as 59-year-old Deborah Volland. Volland, whose body was found in the hallway of her apartment at 3540 Nicholas Lane, likely died of smoke inhalation , Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting said. However, the cause and manner of death will not be finalized until the investigation, including toxicology, is complete, Nolting said. Columbus firefighters found her in the apartment and brought her outside before emergency medical technicians attempted resuscitation , Columbus Fire Investigator Matt Noblitt said. When firefighters arrived , they heard multiple smoke detectors had activated and were told by neighbors that the apartment’s sole occupant had limited mobility, Noblitt said. Smoke damage was substan...

Westbrook will not charge fees based on a development’s impacts to the school and sewer system. The decision is a reversal from last fall, when the Westbrook City Council expressed interest in the idea and planned to charge impact fees on all building projects with permits issued since Oct. 3. The fees were popular among residents and officials concerned about the pace of growth in the city at a time when hundreds of housing units were proposed for Westbrook. City staff spent months developing the formulas for the fees, which are designed to pay for new capacity needed as a result of a development. Under the system proposed, for example, the owner of a new three-bedroom house would need to pay a $3, 245 school impact fee to offset the future costs of adding children to local classrooms. But when the final proposals for those fees came before the City Council last week, the group rejected them. A majority of councilors said they were worried the fees would discourage families and b...