Saturday, January 24, 2015

Slow Saturday Special: Maryland Mansion Mystery

The only mystery left is whether the report is psyop prop and staged and scripted fiction or some shallow and superficial distortion. That's the choice when it comes to the 1% media these days. The last thing you are going to find is the truth.

"6 unaccounted for in Maryland mansion blaze" by Brian Witte, Associated Press  January 20, 2015

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A fierce fire gutted a 16,000-square-foot mansion near Maryland’s capital early Monday, leaving the fate of up to six people unclear.

Fire officials said special equipment and crews were needed to undertake a complete search of the site. A letter from the headmaster of a school, however, said four children and their grandparents died in the fire, according to the The Capital newspaper of Annapolis.

The letter from headmaster Douglas Lagarde to parents of children attending Severn School said Don and Sandy Pyle died in the estate with the four children.

The letter does not state the source of the information.

The fire was reported about 3:30 a.m. by an alarm monitoring company and a neighbor who saw flames at the mansion in Annapolis, said Captain Russ Davies, spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

“From the family, we know who’s unaccounted for,” Davies said, though he declined to say who specifically could not be located. “If you look at the damage, you know, it would not be a stretch to think that if there were occupants that they did not survive the fire.”

Teary-eyed neighbors gathered near the gate leading to the waterfront home. Two teddy bears and flowers were placed beside the gate leading to the home.

Don Pyle was named chief operating office of Science-Logic in September. The company, based in Reston, Va., makes software for cloud computing.

What got into his cloud that he wasn't supposed to get?

Yama Habibzai, a spokesman for ScienceLogic, confirmed in an e-mail that there was a fire at Pyle’s home early Monday and the case is under investigation. He said the company had no further comment.

Davies said the cause of the fire, which caused “multiple millions” of dollars in damage, has not been determined.

The fire was brought under control hours after it began by some 85 firefighters called in from several areas. Davies said because there was no fire hydrant in the area, firefighters shuttled water tankers to the site and stationed a fire boat at a pier near the property to bring in water.

Because of the intensity of the fire, the size of the house, and the failure of the roof and floors, firefighters have been unable to search the structure, Davies said. He added that firefighters remained on the site beside the mansion, which had been reduced to its stone framework.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also were on the premises Monday afternoon. Special Agent David Cheplak, a spokesman for the ATF’s Baltimore field office, said local fire officials had asked for help.

There was no evidence at this point of foul play, Cheplak said. The team was expected to return Tuesday.

And if there is, they will cover it up.

According to a 2008 story in the Baltimore Sun, the Pyles’ house, which was the site of a charity event, was described as looking like a castle, with mini-turrets, stonework, and lion statues.

State property records said the two-story house was built in 2005 and had seven bedrooms and 7 ½ bathrooms.

Its value was listed at $4.2 million.

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UPDATE:

"Maryland fire’s smoke killed 6, autopsy finds" Washington Post  February 04, 2015

WASHINGTON — An Annapolis, Md., couple and their four grandchildren died of smoke inhalation and burns after a Christmas tree in the grandparents’ waterfront mansion caught fire, according to the Baltimore medical examiner’s reports.

Bruce Goldfarb, a spokesman for the medical examiner, said the deaths of Don and Sandra Pyle and their four grandchildren were found to be accidental.

A faulty electrical outlet powering tree lights in the room, which was connected to the sleeping and living areas, probably ignited the Jan. 19 blaze by setting the tree skirt on fire, officials said....

The size of the tree combined with the oxygen available in the house’s cavernous rooms created an inferno, fire officials said. The fire’s size and speed may explain why no one was able to escape.

Bill McMullan, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Baltimore, has said the fire ‘‘was the result of a tragic accident that occurred at the absolutely worst possible time.’’

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Also seeMaryland fire that killed 6 is ruled accidental