Grandmother Killed In Delaware County House Fire
By Matt Rivers
LOWER CHICHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- A neighbor jumped into action to help rescue several children from a burning home in Delaware County, but sadly, their grandmother did not make it out alive.
A boom shock the neighborhood just after 7 a.m. Saturday as fire tore through a home along the 100 block of Fronefield Avenue in Lower Chichester.
"A bunch of flames came out," said neighbor Kathryn Boccelli, "and we heard 'help, help.'"
Several people were trapped inside the home, including children. A mother and two of her children were in the front yard frantic as their siblings, their father and their grandmother were still inside.
Nicholas Wells lives next door to the home and raced over to help.
"I tried to go to the top step," he said, "and all I saw was fire coming out of the bottom step."
Wells heard those trapped inside and broke basement windows to get them out. With the children safe, he helped pull their father through the window.
"There was no place to really touch him," Wells said. "The burns on this man were crazy. Skin was peeling off of him."
Officials say the man was burned while trying to save the children's grandmother. Neighbors say her name was Doris. She died in the fire.
The father and several of his children remain hospitalized.
Neighbors immediately began collection donations with bags of clothing quickly piling up inside their homes.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire.
