Couple perish in S. Phila. house fire

WHEN LISA KILLIAN heard pounding on the door to her South Philly home at 1:30 Thursday morning, she thought her son had forgotten his keys again.

So she got out of bed. On her way downstairs, she noticed what she thought was an orange light coming from a home on the other side of Daly Street, a narrow block between 4th and 5th streets just above Wolf.

Within minutes, that "light" erupted into a roaring inferno that claimed two lives, despite the best efforts of a veteran police officer.

"It just moved so fast," Killian said Thursday night in an interview in her living room, mere feet from the charred remains of the house. "I've never seen anything like that."

She told the Daily News that the victims were Michael "Mickey" McGoldrick and Marsha Shear, fixtures on Daly Street for years.

The cause of the fire was being investigated Thursday night by the Fire Marshal's Office. Killian said the couple had had problems with their gas heat and had been reliant on space heaters.

Candles often glowed in the windows, especially on the first floor, not far from where McGoldrick and Shear slept, Killian said.

Her husband, William, a longtime friend of McGoldrick's sister, was still reeling over the tragedy, having witnessed the rescue attempt by a police officer he hailed as a hero.

"He didn't know those two from a can of paint," William Killian said, "but he went above and beyond to save them."

Killian watched from his front porch as the officer and his partner ran to the burning home and "kicked the door in."

"He went in two or three times, but kept getting blown back by the flames," Killian said.

The officer screamed for McGoldrick, who had collapsed near the home's front door. He tried to pull the trapped man to safety, Killian said, screaming, " 'I'm here, grab me!' "

Ultimately, the heat was too intense, and the officer had to retreat as firefighters arrived, Killian said.

"That cop did everything in his power," Killian said. "He gave [McGoldrick] a slim chance to live."

That officer, identified by police sources as Robert Robinson, 54, was taken to Temple University Hospital for treatment of burns on his hands and arms sustained while trying to free the doomed couple.

Robinson, who's served on the force for 24 years, was recovering at home Thursday night, the sources said.

Meanwhile, on Daly Street, Christine Seoud expressed gratitude for Robinson and the other first responders who battled the powerful blaze.

"I'm just thankful to be here," Seoud, 24, said Thursday night in the doorway of her residence, which shares a wall with the skeleton of the burned-out home.

"Everyone was so helpful; you never can be prepared for something like this."

Seoud, a native of Rochester, N.Y., relocated to South Philly with her fiance six months ago for her job as an accountant at Wexford Property Management.

The couple were quickly welcomed into the tight-knit fold of Daly Street residents, especially by Shear, who Seoud remembered for her outgoing nature.

"She would walk up to everyone and say, 'I'm Marsha, I've lived in South Philly for 65 years, and I'm never leaving,' " Seoud said, eyeing the makeshift memorial placed on the stoop next door.

The young accountant and her husband-to-be were evacuated during the fire by frantic neighbors, but authorities allowed them back inside a few hours later.

Although the inferno next door caused only smoke damage to her home, its presence was still felt hours later: Seoud had to raise her voice slightly to be heard over the whirring of air-filtering fans inside her living room, where the stench of burned wood hung heavy.

"We're trying to make it livable again," Seoud said.

- Staff writer Jenny DeHuff contributed to this report.