Levittown Fire Injures Resident, Kills Cat

A fast-moving blaze left a man in the hospital and his house badly damaged Friday.

At approximately 4:40 p.m., firefighters were called to the 70 block of Red Ridge Road in Middletown Township’s Levittown section for a report of a kitchen fire.

William Penn Fire Company Deputy Chief Bill Smith said he arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the second floor, and within a short time, flames were visible from the roof.

Arriving firefighters went into the burning home and began battling the flames and intense heat.

Smith said the fire spread into walls from the kitchen and into the second floor.

As firefighters were attacking the flames on the second floor, Penndel Fire Company’s tower truck was put into service. Crews cut a vent in the roof to allow flames and heat to escape as they made progress inside, Smith said.

Due to an “aggressive, sustained, interior attack,” firefighters were able to put the blaze under control in 23 minutes, Smith said.

The homeowner suffered burns and was taken by the Penndel-Middletown Emergency Squad to St. Mary Medical Center.

Riley Collins, a captain at the William Penn Fire Company, rescued three cats from the home. One later died from its injuries, Smith said.

“I don’t know how he found them, but he did,” Smith said.

The deputy chief, a longtime firefighter, said conditions were ripe for intense heat inside the home, which left two firefighters with minor burns through their protective gear, damaged equipment, and left a layer of soot on them.

The Middletown Township Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating the cause of the blaze.

Smith commended the firefighters who battled the flames and the 9-1-1 dispatchers who worked with crews at the scene during the call.

In addition to the William Penn Fire Company, the Bensalem Township Volunteer Fire Department, Fairless Hills Fire Company, Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company, Levittown Fire Company No. 2, Middletown Township Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Newportville Fire Company, Parkland Fire Company, Penndel Fire Company, and Third Fire Company responded.