MORRISVILLE At least 10 homes were damaged by the fire, which started around 10:20 p.m.
Posted: Sunday, February 26, 2012 5:55 am | Updated: 6:42 am, Sun Feb 26, 2012.
A devastating four-alarm fire ripped through a number of rowhomes in Morrisville late Saturday night.
Morrisville Fire Marshal Robert Seward said no one was injured, but the destructive blaze left an entire row of homes along the stretch of West Philadelphia Avenue uninhabitable.
The original fire call came in from 43 W. Philadelphia Ave. at 10:20 p.m.
The fire quickly spread from home to home, as residents hastily evacuated. Firefighters from throughout Bucks County, as well as those from Burlington and Mercer counties in New Jersey, responded, authorities said. Firefighters declared the blaze under control at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday.
It appeared the fire hit at least 14, and maybe more, of the 21 homes in the stretch, which is just west of South Pennsylvania Avenue. Authorities were on the scene investigating the cause of the fire late into the night.
Seward said investigators were trying to gather all the residents to see who would need assistance with the American Red Cross.
One woman who lives in the block stood near the corner of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia avenues in tears.
“What is there to say? I lost my home,” she said.
Elizabeth Tolan was watching her two grandchildren at her daughter’s house along that stretch when one of the grandsons saw a fire engine outside.
“Grandma there’s a fire engine,” she said he told her.
Tolan then saw a firefighter take a hose next door.
She threw shoes on their feet and got them out of the house. They were wearing their pajamas, she said.
“It’s just getting worse and worse,” one man said as he watched firefighters on the roof, who broke the windows so crews on the ground could get water to the fire, and move from one house to the next.
Scott Evans, who lives nearby, also watched the firefighters as smoke billowed through the neighborhood and flames came through the tops of the houses.
“Every time they make a push, flames keep pushing through the roof,” he said.
Smoke could be seen from the Route 1 Superhighway in Falls. People from all over the community watched as firefighters battled the blaze.
Officials closed many of the roads near that section of the borough as dozens of emergency vehicles staged in the area.
Morrisville Fire Marshal Robert Seward said no one was injured, but the destructive blaze left an entire row of homes along the stretch of West Philadelphia Avenue uninhabitable.
The original fire call came in from 43 W. Philadelphia Ave. at 10:20 p.m.
The fire quickly spread from home to home, as residents hastily evacuated. Firefighters from throughout Bucks County, as well as those from Burlington and Mercer counties in New Jersey, responded, authorities said. Firefighters declared the blaze under control at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday.
It appeared the fire hit at least 14, and maybe more, of the 21 homes in the stretch, which is just west of South Pennsylvania Avenue. Authorities were on the scene investigating the cause of the fire late into the night.
Seward said investigators were trying to gather all the residents to see who would need assistance with the American Red Cross.
One woman who lives in the block stood near the corner of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia avenues in tears.
“What is there to say? I lost my home,” she said.
Elizabeth Tolan was watching her two grandchildren at her daughter’s house along that stretch when one of the grandsons saw a fire engine outside.
“Grandma there’s a fire engine,” she said he told her.
Tolan then saw a firefighter take a hose next door.
She threw shoes on their feet and got them out of the house. They were wearing their pajamas, she said.
“It’s just getting worse and worse,” one man said as he watched firefighters on the roof, who broke the windows so crews on the ground could get water to the fire, and move from one house to the next.
Scott Evans, who lives nearby, also watched the firefighters as smoke billowed through the neighborhood and flames came through the tops of the houses.
“Every time they make a push, flames keep pushing through the roof,” he said.
Smoke could be seen from the Route 1 Superhighway in Falls. People from all over the community watched as firefighters battled the blaze.
Officials closed many of the roads near that section of the borough as dozens of emergency vehicles staged in the area.
10 comments:
What a tragedy. I am very sorry for those many families. If anyone knows to whom to donate clothing, etc, please post it.
I second that. I can't believe I didn't hear any sirens.
I've heard that there were a couple families displaced by the fire and that Grandview will be a donation drop-off. I'll share more details when I have them.
FOR EVERYONE ASKING ABOUT HELPING THE FAMLIES WHO LOST THEIR HOMES LAST NIGHT IN MORRISVILLE...
PLEASE pass on that the Morrisville School District Administration is working with the PTO leaders as well as other community contacts since early this morning on speaking to the families involved, fact gathering re: the needs of the kids and parents etc and the first priority, after confirming each family has shelter (which was done by the Emergency Services/Red Cross representatives) is to make sure the kids can get back to school and into a safe supportive environment with what they need to function and of course next would be to make sure each family receives help from the community as well whether they have school age kids or not.
We hope by end of day today or tomorrow morning there will be a phone blast, email and/or flyer with information on where donations can be dropped off, what time and what is needed first so that those wishing to help have the information they need to proceed.
Please be patient while all the specifics are worked out and the right information is gathered and distributed to avoid any confusion.
Everyone has been so kind in their offerings today, it is an amazing community we live in and are surrounded by who jump in immediately to help one another.
For the time being we know that Grandview Elementary will be collecting certain items but there are reps working to organize a larger drop off in town that will be able to accept the amount of donations that are anticipated.
Please wait for official drop off information to come out so we can help avoid any traffic or crowd issues at Grandview during drop off and pick up times for students this week.
We will post on Facebook as well as other official sites so please stay tuned.
Gift cards of any type and denomination are always a good idea for donation so families can purchase the small things they need to feel whole again (sometimes a simple toothbrush that you picked out yourself and other personal toiletries can make all the difference in a persons day who is dealing with loss).
Thank you and stay tuned.
Blessings to all our Morrisville Families
UPDATE FOR DONATIONS FOR MORRISVILLE FAMILIES AS A RESULT OF THE FIRE LAST NIGHT....
MS. RUFFING, PRINCIPAL OF GRANDVIEW ELEMENTARY....
She has been in communications with many of the parents today, waiting for a bit more information to come back regarding specific sizes but at this time, anything would be appreciated.
There will be a note going home to parents tomorrow.
Items can be dropped at Grandview Elementary on Grandview Avenue starting tomorrow morning.
There will be extra people in the driveway and boxes ready to take donations from cars as you pull up, However if you can drop things between 9am and 2pm that would help alleviate traffic issues and congestion during student drop off and pick up times.
She also heard that donations can be dropped off at the Fraternal Order of Eagles on Trenton Road in Fairless Hills, as well as Morrisville YMCA.
They will also have a box at the High School the night of the elementary play on Tuesday
Many staff and community members have outreached to the families. Its very good to see that outpouring of support for the families in their time of need.
Sizes known at this time:
5 yr old boy (PreK) size 5T, also has a 25 month old baby brother
2 - 8 year old girls (2nd grade).... sizes 7/8 I assuming
2 - 9 year old boys (3rd grade).... sizes I am assuming 9/10 & 11/12
Also a 6th grade boy .... waiting to hear back from parent regarding sizes
****
ADD ON INFORMATION....
I spoke to another parent whose 8 yr old son is home schooled, He lost all of his learning materials. That parent is asking if anyone has 2nd grade learning materials, workbooks, books, tablets etc she would be grateful to receive so she can keep up his schooling and not lose too much time.
this Boy also wears a size 14 pant and XL shirt and has a 3 year old brother in size 4.
These families only have hotel accomodations until Weds, then they need to make other arrangements. Many will need furniture, kitchen items, beds, dressers, bedding, blankets, pillow cases etc.
I am making a list of those who have these type of items and wish to connect to one family at a time to see who can use what. That information can be emailed to wandakartal@yahoo.com please include your name and # and what larger items you may have for these families to re-settle elsewhere.
Most of the families say gift cards would be most welcome from stores where they can obtain food, househould items and personal things altogether as the need comes up. Any denomination is welcome since since 'like" cards can be added together to spread the donations across all the families.
The issues is always the long term rebuild, resettle and reorganize that goes beyond the first week of attention that we are hoping to arrange for these families.
Many have extended their Thanks to the community and are overwhelmed right now with decisions to be made, calls, needs etc and appreciate knowing everyone is out there trying to pull it together for them.
Thank you
Wanda Kartal
wandakartal@yahoo.com
MORRISVILLE
Official: bathroom fan likely caused 4-alarm blaze
Posted: Monday, February 27, 2012 5:30 am | Updated: 7:05 am, Mon Feb 27, 2012.
By DANNY ADLER Staff writer Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments
An electrical malfunction in a second-floor bathroom vent fan likely sparked Saturday night’s four-alarm blaze that damaged 17 rowhomes in Morrisville late Saturday, Fire Marshal Robert Seward said Sunday.
He and Morrisville Fire Chief Matt Wiedenhaefer told the newspaper that the fire and extensive smoke and water damage to the stretch of homes on West Philadelphia Avenue rendered the homes uninhabitable.
Both fire officials said no firefighters or residents were injured.
Seward said the American Red Cross is helping families displaced by the blaze, which left nearly three dozen homeless, at a nearby hotel. Others say they will stay with family and friends, who have been reaching out to the victims and have offered assistance.
Seward said he believes the fire was burning in the rowhomes’ common attic for about three or four hours before anything was detected. Built in the early 20th century, the building had no fire walls, a borough official said. Online county property records say the rowhomes were built in 1919.
“That whole row, they all have the same common attic,” Seward said. “Once you get in the attic you can see from one end of the building to the other.”
Officials said the original 911 call came in at about 10:20 p.m. Saturday for smoking wires in the bathroom at 43 W. Philadelphia Ave., which is in the middle of the block of homes. By the time firefighters arrived, they saw smoke coming from the eaves of five houses and fire in the rear of one of them, Wiedenhaefer said. The flames spread quickly and firefighters battled the blaze for almost two hours.
It did not get into the first floor of any of the homes, investigators said.
The fire pulled in fire companies from all over the area, officials said.
“Every crew did a top-notch job,” Wiedenhaefer said.
Residents said they evacuated their homes as they saw the engines pull up.
Dave Schrader, an American Red Cross spokesman, said the Red Cross is giving aid to 34 people (22 adults and 12 children) in 10 families, three dogs and two cats. The Red Cross is providing assistance for shelter, food, clothing and other emergency aid, he said. Anyone displaced by the fire can call the Red Cross at 215-299-4889.
“We will continue to accept new cases for the immediate future,” Schrader said. “So any families who have not come forward or need additional resources can do so. All assistance is free of charge and made possible solely through donations.”
Anyone who wants to help these families and others can go to www.PhillyHomeFire.org.
“As of tonight, I am totally homeless and lost just about everything that I’ve ever owned,” resident Barb Steele said in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Later Sunday, residents went through their homes, trying to salvage anything they could — family photographs, TVs, anything. Water still dripped from the eaves onto the sidewalk, which was littered with shattered glass and other debris.
Lisa Reitter, who lives there with her three children, said she and her kids had recently returned home from an indoor water park before the blaze.
“We were just getting showered and ready for bed,” she said Sunday afternoon. “My kids noticed the fire trucks. We thought we would get out here, there’d be a fire and we’d be back in our house in a half hour. But as we were standing there, we were watching chaos erupt.”
She said many of her friends are reaching out to her to help her. Fire officials said that since the bulk of the fire was in the attic, the homes will likely need to be gutted and rehabbed to current standards, not entirely knocked down.
Also, on Sunday morning after about 8 a.m. there was a small brush fire at the scene. Firefighters quickly extinguished it.
VERY IMPORTANT MESSSAGE FROM OUR SCHOOL REGARDING UPDATE ON DONATIONS..... PLEASE SHARE.....
I would like to first thank everyone for all the support that has been provided to the families in need thus far. Grandview Elementary has received many donations, as well as, phone calls. At this time, we have received a large donation of clothing. The items have been sorted and families have been coming to the school to pick up the donations.
Although we appreciate all the clothing, we are currently no longer in need as we have received a generous amount of clothing. We are still looking for toiletries & cleaning supplies to give to each family.
If you are interested in giving a cash or giftcard (Walmart/Giant, etc) or cash donations, please send them directly to the Ivin’s House located at 80 West Trenton Avenue in Morrisville, 19067 (Attn: Darletta Berry-Johnson). Her email is : info@ivinsoutreach.org, Phone is: (215)-428-0500. Darletta has much experience in dealing with these types of situations and has many resources for the families to connect with.
Again on behalf of the school district and families, we appreciate all the generosity and outpouring of support.
Laurie Ruffing, Principal
Laurie Ruffing
Elementary Principal
Grandview Elementary School
Morrisville Intermediate School
Victims of Weekend Fire Donation Information
The clothing donations for the families affected by Saturday’s fire in Morrisville have been swift and generous. We thank the entire community for their generosity, concern and prayers. NOW, we are in most need of: toiletries, cleaning supplies, detergent, luggage/backpacks, single serving non-perishable food items, and gift cards to local restaurants, grocery and department stores.
Donations are being accepted Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at The Ivins Outreach Center, 80 West Trenton Avenue, Morrisville, PA 19067.
For additional information or if you have questions, please send an email to: info@IvinsOutreach.org or call (215) 428-0500, ext. 102. Checks should be made payable to: The Ivins Outreach Center. Please specify your donation to: All Fire Victims or Families with Children. A special account has been established.
Donations are also being accepted at the Italian American Social Club, 150 Harrison Avenue, Morrisville, through Friday, March 2 from 5 – 10 pm.
Community helping fire victims
Posted: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 5:00 am | Updated: 7:00 am, Tue Feb 28, 2012.
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer | 0 comments
The Morrisville community is coming through for the fire victims who are homeless after fierce flames destroyed their homes late Saturday night.
Eleven families — 12 children and 23 adults — have nothing because everything in their homes on West Philadelphia Avenue burned.
The Ivins Outreach Center is taking donations for the victims, such as toiletries, cleaning supplies, detergent, luggage/backpacks, single-serving nonperishable food items and gift cards to local restaurants, grocery and department stores, as well as monetary donations.
Since Saturday night, clothing donations have come through, so clothes are not needed at this time.
And the families have been put up at a nearby hotel by the American Red Cross. Some of the families owned their homes, so their insurance will pay for suitable places for them to stay in the meantime. Others are renters who might not have renters insurance.
It is standard procedure for the Red Cross to provide three days of hotel accommodation, Sara Smith, spokeswoman for the agency, said Monday night.
That gives victims time to get paperwork worked out with their insurance companies or to reach out to family and friends to house them, she said, adding that the group will not throw out anyone who doesn’t have a place to go after the third day.
Fire Marshal Robert Seward said he’s working on finding accommodations for people who don’t have somewhere to go.
“We are working out lodging,” he said. “We are hoping to strike a deal somewhere.”
The four-alarm fire was likely caused by an electrical malfunction in a second-floor bathroom vent fan and damaged 17 rowhomes. Online county property records say the rowhomes were built in 1919.
Seward and Morrisville Fire Chief Matt Wiedenhaefer have said that the fire and extensive smoke and water damage to the stretch of homes rendered them uninhabitable.
No firefighters or residents were injured.
Donations at the Ivins Outreach Center are being accepted 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, at its main building at 80 W. Trenton Ave. in Morrisville.
For more information, call 215-428-0500, Ext. 102 or email info@ivinsoutreach.org.
Checks should be made payable to: The Ivins Outreach Center, and specify “All Fire Victims or Families with Children.” A special account has been established.
Donations are also being accepted at the Italian American Social Club, 150 Harrison Ave. in Morrisville, from 5 to 10 p.m. through Friday.
Fraternal Order of Eagles, also known as the Eagles Nest, is also taking donations. It is at 920 Trenton Road in Falls.
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