City firemen battle two blazes

YOUNGSTOWN — City firefighters were called to two fires. A fire captain suffered back pain late Sunday night at a house fire at 485 W. Princeton Ave. on the South Side. He was carried out of the burning house by a firefighter, reports show. Capt. Alvin Ware, head of the arson bureau, said the pain was likely a muscle spasm. A battering ram was used at 10 p.m. to enter the empty structure that neighbors said has been used by a vagrant. Signs of drug activity were found in the living room. Fire damage was set at $5,000 and the cause is under investigation. At 2:50 a.m. today, firefighters were sent to 85 E. Chalmers Ave., also on the South Side, and found the vacant house fully engulfed in flames. Damage was set at $15,000, a total loss, and the cause is under investigation.