4 firefighters hurt in Delaware County blaze

Eight days after a volunteer firefighter died and three others were injured in a Delaware County house fire, four more county firefighters were hurt fighting another blaze Thursday.

Around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Darby Borough firefighters received a call for a fire in the 100 block of Mermont Circle.

They found heavy smoke and fire in the basement of the home, said Fire Capt. Chris Caruso. The family of nine was out of the home by the time firefighters arrived.

Two Darby firefighters suffered smoke inhalation and a firefighter from Sharon Hill suffered from dehydration while battling the blaze, which was brought under control by 11.

A fire police officer from Darby Station No. 2 was in stable condition at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital after suffering a heart attack while directing traffic in the vicinity of the fire, according to Ed Neary Sr., president of the fire company. He was identified as Lt. John Petrovics.

Three members of the family were hospitalized, and their conditions were unknown, Red Cross representative Pat Ma said. The Red Cross provided the family with money for food and clothing. The family found its own shelter.

On Tuesday, Lt. Nicholas Picozzi II of the Lower Chichester volunteer fire company was laid to rest with a "full honors" funeral. He died after being pulled from a house fire in Upper Chichester on March 5. Three other firefighters were injured. The fire is still under investigation.

In September, Sharon Hill firefighter Michael Reagan, 19, died from injuries suffered during a garage fire.

"We train pretty hard down here," said Sharon Hill Fire Chief William Benecke. He said that while his department is always talking about Reagan's death and the dangers involved, "when that siren goes off, you just have to put it off."

Benecke said that on Wednesday, another firefighter suffered a minor eye injury at a house fire in Collingdale.

In August, Parkside firefighters Chase Frost, 21, and Daniel Brees, 20, were injured battling a house fire. Frost is now in Texas recovering from burns to more than 50 percent of his body.