Careless smoking triggered deadly York Township fire, fire chief says
A person is dead following a late-night fire Saturday in the 400 block of Chancellor Road, York Township.
Ted CzechInvestigators say careless smoking is to blame after a man died in a late-night fire Saturday in York Township, according to Goodwill Fire Company Chief Nate Tracey.
Tracey said Sunday the man, who lived alone in the home in the 400 block of Chancellor Road, had recently been discharged from an area hospital, needed an oxygen tank to breathe and was also a "heavy smoker."
As of Sunday afternoon, York Coroner Coroner Pam Gay said the man's name would be released after his family had been notified of his death.
Tracey said in addition to the man's health issues, there was another major factor in the fire.
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"There were no working fire alarms in the house," he said. "I'm pretty sure the fire had been burning for 30 minutes before dispatch."
The chief said this is the second fatal fire this year in York Township in which he believes smoke alarms were not operable. The first was in June on McKinley Drive, he said.
"We couldn't find any," in the McKinley fire home, which sustained extensive damage, he said.
"It's disturbing," he said. "Folks these days can easily make their homes fire safe with working smoke alarms to give them the chance to get out."
Tracey said York Area Regional Police, along with Pennsylvania State Police, continue to investigate the fire, but that they had concluded it was caused by careless discarding of smoking materials."
"A shame"
Tom Ness, 47, who lives nearby the home that caught fire, said Sunday his children woke him up late Saturday night to tell him about the fire.
He said he knew the man, but only to say "hi" to him.
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"He kept to himself, he had a visitor almost every day checking up on him," Ness said.
Ness called the man's death "a shame" and "a tragedy."
Found on the floor
Tracey said he arrived at the fire about two minutes after the 11:16 p.m. dispatch because he lives nearby. Once there, he saw heavy smoke pushing out of the bay window on the home's second floor.
Firefighters soon arrived and a neighbor told them the man might still be inside. Entering through an unlocked front door, firefighters found the house filled with smoke, and flames in the living room, Tracey said.
"His friend, who is power-of-attorney, said he (the man who died) would need help to move ... he was not mobile any longer," Tracey said.
Firefighters found the man on the floor, near a reclining chair. It was clear at that point that he had died, Tracey said.
Contact Ted Czech at 717-771-2033.