I have a Google Alert for Westport, NY because we have a house there. Usually it just feeds me links to mention of the the history of the Adirondack chair.

Today, it actually turned up a few things: a bad multi-motorcycle accident north of town, and more details on the fire at the Westport Hotel which I'd first read about on the site of a Burlington, VT TV station yesterday.

The fire apparently started when a floodlight used as a lamp became too hot and ignited materials near it. The fire was confined to one room after being reported at 5:12 a.m. and quickly extinguished. Investigators were at the hotel until 10:20 a.m.

It was determined as "accidental," said Jack Hanby speaking for the Essex County Fire Investigation Unit after spending hours looking into the probable cause. They determined the guest had been using an outdoor floodlight in the room.

"He was extremely apologetic," Hanby said. "He thought he had unplugged it."

The guest, who was not identified by the Deswarts, reportedly was Dennis Jennings, formerly of New York City.

I think the hotel guest in question may actually be named "Davin Jenkins" who is a white-haired guy in his late 50s a guy whom I met on our front porch last weekend. He bought a few things from my kids who were having a toy sale. He showed my five-year-old daughter a hundred dollar bill, which made quite an impression on her.