2 dead after Ardmore house fire

The Lower Merion Fire Department continues to investigate a house fire that resulted in the deaths of a man and woman in the 200 block of Greenfield Avenue in Ardmore.

The department provided this account:

Firefighters were dispatched Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. to the block.

Lower Merion police officers and Merion Fire Company of Ardmore arrived within a few minutes of dispatch, confirming heavy smoke and fire onthe second floor, with two persons reportedly still inside of the home.

Merion Fire Company’s engine quickly placed a hose line into the home to extinguish the fire.

Additional resources from all seven of the township’s fire companies, along with EMS services from Narberth Ambulance were also dispatched.

Firefighters entered the home and began to conduct a search for the two reported missing individuals.

An adult male resident was located in the doorway of a second-floor rear bedroom. He was removed from the home and placed in care of EMS personnel from Narberth Ambulance.

Once the fire was extinguished in the second-floor bedroom, an adult female resident was located inside of the room.

The remainder of the home was checked, and no other residents were found.

The fire was placed under control at 9:45 p.m. Both of the residents died.

An additional adult female resident of the home escaped and was transported to Lankenau Hospital for observation.

The cause of the fire appears to be accidental. It is also noted that while the house did have several smoke detectors, none were operational.

The Lower Merion Fire Department was assisted by the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshals Office for the investigation. Resources from a local Critical Incident Stress Management team were dispatched to provide emergency personnel with assistance after the tragedy.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office had no information on the deaths. Other news media reported that the victims were mother and son.