U.S. attorney to seek death penalty in 2004 hotel fire case

COLUMBIA, S.C. South Carolina's top federal prosecutor will seek the death penalty against a man charged with setting a fatal fire in a Greenville hotel more than two years ago.

U-S Attorney Reggie Lloyd has filed notice of intent to pursue the death penalty against 36-year-old Eric Preston Hans of Taylors.

Hans was indicted in November on charges that he set a fire at the Comfort Inn to kill 21-year-old Melba Leshawn Canty. She died in the fire with her 15-month-old son, Jaden.

The January 2004 fire also killed four more people and injured eleven other guests.

Hans has pleaded --not-- guilty. A trial date has --not-- been scheduled.

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Durango Hotel Fire Called Arson

Wednesday, 02 August 2006 One-gallon fuel can found at historic downtown building. Fire investigators said they believe the blaze that destroyed the top two floors of historic Central Hotel in downtown Durango Saturday was deliberately set, the Farmington Daily Times reported today on its Web site.Durango Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman said at a news conference Tuesday that investigators found a one-gallon metal can inside the hotel that is located in the town's historic downtown district, the Daily Times reported.

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Police are still looking for a suspect -- and a motive -- and are asking anyone with photos, video footage or any other information about the fire to call the Durango Police Department, the paper reported.The fire began around 1 p.m. Saturday, shortly after Durango's Fiesta Day Parade passed by the hotel on Main Street.

If someone is apprehended, he or she will likely face charges of first-degree arson and first-degree criminal assault, District Attorney Craig Westberg said at the news conference.

The assault charge would be brought in connection with a hotel resident who broke both legs while trying to flee the fire, according to the Daily Times.

In addition to Durango police, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Durango Fire and Rescue Authority and an independent insurance investigator are conducting their own probes, the Daily Times reported.

Girl, 6, dies at fire eating show while on holiday at a Turkish hotel

Thursday, 3 August 2006

Eden Galvani-Skeete, thought to be from Ilford, east London, was hurt watching the show at the Gemini Resort in Didim.

The father of another child injured in the show said fireballs flew into the audience when entertainers created a "wall of flame" on the dance floor.

Eden was taken to hospital on Saturday but died later. Six other Britons, including three children, were hurt.

Mark Hunter, from Carlisle, the father of 13-year-old Sarah Hunter, who suffered burns during the display, described what he saw.

He said: "There's a record at the minute called 'Hyper, Hyper' which is like the summer dance routine which is going round in Turkey.

"It was at this point when the record came on that a trail of, I would imagine, alcohol-based inflammable liquid was laid across the front of the dance floor. "This produced a wall of flame of about 18 inches to two feet high which I would imagine extinguished after about 10 to 15 seconds. At that point there was no problem.

"It was then repeated and it was at this point there was a massive explosion and the fireballs produced into the audience, and it was this time that there was total chaos and that people suffered their injuries."

Eden, who was the most seriously injured, was taken to a local hospital, then transferred to a burns unit in Kusadasi.

From there she was taken to a teaching hospital in Izmir where she died.

The injured were not in a serious condition, a hospital official told the AP news agency late on Wednesday
Eden had been on holiday with her mother Helen Zachariou in the resort since 25 July.

The Foreign Office confirmed the other injured Britons were being treated at a hospital in Kusadasi.

A spokesman said: "A six-year-old girl died in Izmir on 31 July after receiving burns during a fire-based entertainment display at a hotel.

"Next of kin have been informed and consular staff are providing assistance.

"We can confirm that six British nationals - including three minors - also received burns during the incident.

"They are currently in hospital in Kusadasi receiving treatment. Consular staff have visited the hospital."