HOLIDAY HEARTBREAK

Fire devastates Middletown home on Christmas morning:

MIDDLETOWN » Christmas turned tragic for one family on the first block of Rampart East when a house fire swept through their home Friday morning, leaving little more than a smoldering shell in its wake.

None of the seven people at the residence were injured, said Middletown Council Chairman and active firefighter Mark Kirchgasser, though four Aston Township firefighters were injured as a result of a possible “flashover,” according to a release from Aston Fire Department President Sean Joyce.

The f lashover forced the firefighters to make a quick exit of the building, Joyce said, and two were transported to a local hospital. Kirchgasser said all four had been evaluated and released, and were OK

irchgasser was among the dozens of other first responders battling the blaze after the initial call came into Middletown at about 10:09 a.m.

“There was a report of black smoke in the basement,” he said. “Firefighters arrived to see heavy smoke coming out of the first f loor and the base

ment, and attacked with two handlines.”

Additional departments piled on the blaze through the morning as firefighters worked to knock it down. By 11:15 a.m. the fire had been contained, but smoke continued to pour out of holes in the roof and from shattered windows. Kirchgasser said it appeared to be a total loss.

Two of the family’s three

pets had been located and responders were still searching for the third by late morning, Kirchgasser said. There was no immediate determination on a cause.

Fire trucks, ambulances and emergency vehicles stretched for a quarter mile or more along the street as neighbors stood on lawns taking in the scene. Several firefighters continued to work inside the home as others sat . on mobile gurneys orKthe backs of fire trucks, taking oxygen and airing out with the cool December air.

Responding companies included Middletown, Rocky Run, Brookhaven, Aston, Clif ton Heights, Rose Tree, Newtown Square, Upper Chichester, Media and Media EMS, Kirchgasser said.

ALEX ROSE - MEDIANEWS GROUP Firefighters battle the blaze from the roof of the home in the first block of Rampart East in Middletown.

ALEX ROSE - MEDIANEWS GROUP Firefighters see the blaze unfold in Middletown.

ALEX ROSE - MEDIANEWS GROUP The home on Rampart East in Middletown was a total loss, officials said.

ALEX ROSE - MEDIANEWS GROUP A firefighter takes a breather at the scene.