Family: Man Battling Cancer, Receiving In-Home Hospice Care Killed In Marple Township House Fire; Ex-Wife Injured
MARPLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- Officials say one person was killed in a fire in Delaware County Friday night. Smoke could be seen pouring from the roof of a home on Francis Drive in Marple Township.
Crews arrived on the scene just before 9 p.m. and placed the blaze under control around 9:45 p.m.
"We were watching a movie and heard the sirens... saw a bunch of flames, came over and saw all these fire trucks," Rob Donofrio, who lives nearby, said.
Authorities say one person was found dead inside the home, and a woman was transported to the hospital for burns.
"Upon arrival, the first arriving units found heavy fire in the rear of the building of a single-family dwelling. Police that arrived prior to the fire department were actually able to extricate a female at the rear of the building and she has since been taken to a local burn center for treatment," Broomall Fire Company Chief Thomas Dobbins said.
Family members too distraught to talk on camera identified the victim as Fred Grandizio. His sister-in-law tells Eyewitness News he was battling cancer and was receiving in-home hospice care.
Family members identified the woman injured in the fire as Mary Jean Grandizio, Fred's ex-wife.
First responders say they found both victims toward the back of the home - a home still dressed with holiday decorations in the middle of charred debris and boarded up windows.
Neighbors say this home has been in the Grandizio family for about two decades.
"I heard they were really nice people," Donofrio said. "They are in our prayers. Just an unfortunate circumstance."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
CBS3's Crystal Cranmore contributed to this report.
