(January 22, 2007-date that the article was written) — A popular Red Jacket High School student died in a house fire in the village of Shortsville, Ontario County, Sunday afternoon.Joshua M. Lewis, 17, was pronounced dead at the scene of a fire at 21 Palmyra St., said Ontario County Sheriff Phillip Povero.Lewis, a junior, was a high school football player and pee-wee wrestling assistant, said Principal Timothy Benjamin.Lewis had just returned from a trip to Nashville, Tenn., where he had attended the governor's Inaugural Ball. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is a Red Jacket alumnus and relative of Lewis' girlfriend, Benjamin said."He was so excited," Benjamin said. "It was his first time on a jet and (Joshua's girlfriend) said he had his picture taken with famous people."Sunday night, dozens of students, teachers, school staff, school board members and other community leaders overflowed from the high school cafeteria, where counselors offered assistance. In a school of about 300 students, Lewis was known for his easygoing and fun-loving personality, students said."He was always happy and upbeat in practice," said football player Andrew Schaefer, 17, who added that Lewis was his best friend. "We'd laugh as we watched the game films and rewind it if somebody got laid out."The cause of the fire was still under investigation Sunday night. Povero said the flames caused extensive damage on the first floor and Lewis was found on the second floor.He lived in the Palmyra Street house with his mother and two other children. Povero did not say whether anybody else was in the house when the fire started.Four fire departments — from Shortsville, Manchester, Clifton Springs and the Canandaigua Veterans Affairs complex — responded to the blaze, which was reported at 4:41 p.m.Word of Lewis' death spread quickly through the small, close-knit community Sunday afternoon as students passed along messages on cellular telephones and e-mails.Schaefer said he heard about the fire from his grandmother, who had heard it on the citizen-band radio. He thought it might be Lewis' house, so he walked to a cemetery across the street from the house and watched the firefighters. He tried about 10 times to reach Lewis on his cell phone, hoping each time his friend had left it behind after he escaped the fire. Finally, Schaefer learned from another friend that Lewis had died.Schaefer said he had talked to Lewis earlier Sunday afternoon, soon after he had returned from Tennessee. "He said he was tired," Schaefer said. movies layout @ HOT FreeLayouts.com MyHotComments
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