European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday october 29, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 5 thousands attend rites for victims of Oakland s destructive wildfire Oakland Calif. A survivors of the wildfire that burned thousands of Homes and killed 25 people in the Oakland Hills gathered sunday for a Church service to mourn the victims. Out on the Hills meanwhile work Crews continued their race against nature Clearing debris and dropping grass seed and Bales of Hay on the blackened slopes in an Effort to prevent erosion during the Rainy season. The fire that swept out of the Hills oct. 20 destroyed More than 3,000 houses and apartments and caused damage estimated at Between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. It took the Homes of 22 families affiliated with the Montclair presbyterian Church and forced dozens More to evacuate their upscale Hillside neighbourhoods. The Rev. Andrew a a Duke Robinson told 350 people in the Church about a mile from last week s Blaze that some had a lost your sense of place some have lost friends. All of us have been  Church member Betty Ann Bruno a a thu television reporter whose Home was destroyed was among the fire victims who spoke. Bruno said some things such As clothing were fun to replace but she also lost irreplaceable items such As her great grandmother a jewelry. Still she said a they Are just things a echoing the theme of Many speakers who said they were glad to be alive. Services also were held at St. Theresa a roman Catholic Church which had been evacuated As fire swept past. Oakland diocese Bishop John Cummins stood outside the Church consoling parishioners. Officials said the search for victims was called off after teams combed through the neighbourhoods. Two people were still unaccounted for but they May be among the six victims still unidentified fire capt. Rick Noble said sunday. In the stars and stripes10 year Sago oct. 29,1981 a the Solidarity Union movement called millions of polish workers off the Job in a one hour National protest defying communist authorities who later met in Warsaw to respond. Union leaders reported almost total support for the strike begun amid protests Over food shortages and other issues.20 years ago oct. 29,1971 a described As Britain s most important foreign policy shift in this Century parliament voted to join the european common Market giving up a thousand years of Independent Power for a role in a United europe.30 years ago _ oct. 29,1961 a russian tanks withdrew from the Border crossing on berlins Friedric Strasse ending a 17-hour face to face confrontation Between . And soviet armor.40 years ago oct. 29,1951 a hundreds of Early morning risers As far away As Las vegas saw a dome of Brilliant Light and a mushroom Cloud after an atomic bomb was dropped from a Low flying b-29 bomber at the . Atomic test site in Nevada 70 Miles outside the City. Fearing mudslides in Oakland a fire scorched Hills workers Clear a Runoff placing Bales of Hay around a Drain to keep it from being clogged by debris. A ditch after quintuplets born in d.c., doing Well by the Washington Post Washington quintuplets a three boys and two girls a were born at Howard University Hospital on sunday evening in what Hospital officials described As the first of its kind at Howard. Hospital officials said the five babies born to Troy and Robin Smith of Bermuda were in Good condition after a caesarean delivery. The Mother 26. And the babies a Are All doing quite Well Quot Lennox s. Westney said in a statement. Westney headed a team of More than 45 doctors and other medical personnel who planned and managed the births. A Hospital spokeswoman said the five babies delivered sunday Are Bermuda s first quilts. Washington s first surviving quilts were born at George Washington University Hospital in 1983. Howard spokeswoman Sharon r. Robinson said the Smiths have been in Washington preparing for the delivery for some time. They were referred to Howard by their Bermuda obstetrician because the Hospital has developed a reputation for working with multiple deliveries she said. Two sets of triplets have been born at the Hospital this year. Westney said the team included Anaesthesiologist a respiratory therapists and paediatric medical staff. The five babies were born Between 5 37 . And 5 41 . Each weighed More than 3 pounds which Robinson said doctors viewed As a favourable sign for survival. Cancer victim sues cigarette maker says Asbestos filter caused disease Philadelphia a in the 1950s, Lorillard inc. Hailed an Asbestos filter on its new Kent cigarettes As the a greatest health Protection in the Industry. Now the company is battling a Man who blames his cancer on the filters. Lorillard the nation s fourth largest cigarette maker called the Micro Nite filter a a pure dust free completely harmless  it even promoted Kents in medical journals to encourage doctors to suggest the cigarettes to patients court papers said. Stockbroker Peter Ierardi 56, said he believed the claims and switched to Kents. Lorillard and Hollingsworth amp Vose which made the filter knew or should have known they were a inherently defective Ultra hazardous dangerous deleterious poisonous and otherwise harmful a said a lawsuit filed by Ierardi that was to go to trial monday. The lawsuit is unusual in a cigarette liability Case because it deals with Asbestos not the hazards of smoking. It is the first Over the Kent filters to go to trial Lear did a lawyer said. Ierardi s lawsuit seeks at least $200,000 in damages from Lorillard based in new York and Hollingsworth amp Vose based in East Walpole mass. Lorillard said Ierardi can to prove he smoked Kents during the four year period it used Asbestos filters. The company also said that even if Ierardi smoked Kents he cannot prove Asbestos caused his mesothelium a a fatal cancer of the lining of the Abdomen Chest cavity heart and lungs. A we just done to think we re responsible for it a said Lorillard attorney Walter l. Cofer. Attorney Daniel Childs who specializes in Asbestos cases and represents be Randi said Lorillard is liable for damages because consultants told the company in 1954 that Kent smokers were inhaling Asbestos and that the filters composition was unchanged for two years. The Asbestos filter came about As a Way to counter claims linking smoking to lung cancer though medical reports by the Early 1950s linked Asbestos with Black lung and lung cancer. In court papers Lorillard said a it was aware of medical literature which associated exposure to Mineral fibres including Asbestos fibres with the development of certain respiratory  from 1952 to 1956, the Kent filter contained a blend of Cotton acetate and Crocidolite or a african blues Asbestos a particularly noxious form once considered an effective filtering material. Childs said that More than 90 percent of mesothelium a cases Are attributed to Crocidolite Asbestos a Type used in no commercial product except cigarette filters. The latency period for developing the cancer is 35 to 40 years meaning the disease is just now showing up in smokers he said. A million people might have smoked Kents while the filter was in use he said. Tulip Story leads to Man s drug arrest Houston apr a Man who apparently does no to know tulips was arrested at Houston International Airport after . Customs agents discovered 10 pounds of heroin in his suitcase. Douglas Lee Mitchell 41, a self employed Houston Mechanic was arrested saturday after arriving on a flight from the Netherlands. He was charged with smug gling and with Possession with intent to distribute heroin said Judy Turner a spokeswoman for the customs service. Agents became suspicious when they noticed inconsistencies in Mitchells Story about Why he was out of the country. Turner said. A the said he went to see tulips and windmills but this is autumn a Lurner said. Tulips Bloom in the Spring. Turner estimated the heroines Street value at $10 million. It was concealed in two plastic envelope Type compartments on the sides of a suitcase she said. Four other suspects All nigerian nationals were arrested later saturday at Mitchells shop. They were charged with conspiracy and conspiracy to possess heroin