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Newtown community reacts after house fire kills elderly woman
An elderly woman is dead after a house fire occurred in her Bucks County home. Her neighbors in Newtown react.
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. - A devastating blaze claimed the life of an elderly woman in Bucks County early Monday morning.
Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire engulfing a home on Mahogany Walk in Newtown Township around 4:30 a.m.
Raging flames even drove back firefighters trying to force entry.
The fire was eventually extinguished, leading crews to a tragic discovery.
An elderly woman was found dead in a second-floor bedroom, according to authorities.
The victim was later identified as 77-year-old Loretta Catozzi.
The close-knit community at the complex filled with townhouses in Newtown were shaken up after hearing one of their neighbors died in the incident.
Fire officials say a working smoke alarm could have saved her life.
"It’s just a tragic event, and it shows us how valuable life is and how unexpectedly things can happen," said Michael Winkler, the victim’s neighbor.
"We came, and we saw 6 to 7 fire engines, police officers all on the street," said Vivek Padma, the victim's neighbor.
Neighbors were bleary-eyed but startled by noise and commotion on their block as a fire was blazing at 4:30 a.m.
"I opened the shades, peered out the window and saw flickering light stuck my head out and saw flames," said Tom Geiger, next-door neighbor.
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"They had heavy fire and smoke in the front. They pushed in and extinguished the fire on the first floor, advanced, and on the second floor, and a recently deceased. Homeowner was evacuated from the structure and life-saving activity began," said Nick Weaver, Assistant Fire Chief of Newtown Township Fire Department
At the time, firefighters had the fire under control quickly, but unfortunately the bulk of the damage had already been done.
"Life-saving efforts were made on the front yard. As soon as they got her out, they tried, but it was unsuccessful sadly," said the fire chief.
Fire officials say there were no alarms sounding in the house as they tackled the blaze and tried to rescue the victim.
"We are unaware of any working smoke alarms in the house, and we did not have any activate it on arrival; they were not in all locations they should’ve been" said the fire chief.
Loretta Catozzi lived at her townhouse with her adult son who was not home when the fire started.
Her next-door neighbor, Tom, feels sorrowful about the tragic turn of events.
"You’re talking to someone one day and something like this happens, it's too new to put into words," said the next-door neighbor.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.