3-alarm fire damages 4 townhouses in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Four homes in a stretch of townhouses on West Chelsea Circle in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, were damaged in a three-alarm fire Tuesday afternoon, according to the Newtown Square Fire Company chief.
Firefighters battled the blaze in the 200 block of West Chelsea Circle in Newtown Square. The fire was placed under control around 1:30 p.m., Chief Chris Young said.
Young said firefighters remained on the scene to extinguish any remaining hotspots.
Chopper 3 was over the scene of the fire, showing the roof of at least two homes scorched by the fire. By the time Chopper 3 arrived at the scene, it appeared that most of the flames had been extinguished, but the roof and homes were heavily damaged. Firefighters were spotted both on the roof and inside the home battling the fire.
Young said no one was injured in the fire, and there have been no reports of deaths or injuries to pets at this time.
All of the units were evacuated after the fire, Young said.
Rob Saunders, who lives nearby, described, "dark smoke — black smoke coming in from underneath the roof."
Saunders said he first smelled it when he was inside his home. He said he ran to the homes to try to help, but fire crews had just arrived.
"God bless them, these guys are heroes," he said.
Young said the conditions were brutal.
"The heat is terrible," Young said.
About 12 agencies in the county responded to the fire with over 55 firefighters working the blaze. Young said there are rotating crews coming and going to fight the fire during the heat wave.
At least one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion. The Newtown Square Fire Company said that two firefighters were taken to the hospital, but didn't specify the reason or their conditions. One firefighter was evaluated at the scene.
Chester County set up a rehabilitation tent with a cooling center, cold water and popsicles.
Volunteer firefighter Jack Robinson, 19, said he was thankful for the Chester County rehabilitation tent on the scene.
"Luckily, we have this rehab here to cool us down, but there's nothing we can really do about the hea t— just the nature of the beast," he said.
Firefighters are investigating the extent of the fire's spread and its origin. The cause remains unknown.
