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Red Cross aids fire victims; fan suspected as cause

The Red Cross was helping 22 people in six families find shelter after a four-alarm fire destroyed 15 rowhomes in Morrisville, Bucks County, Saturday night.

The Red Cross was helping 22 people in six families find shelter after a four-alarm fire destroyed 15 rowhomes in Morrisville, Bucks County, Saturday night.

The fire started about 10:30 p.m. on the first block of West Philadelphia Avenue, where firefighters were still walking across roofs and climbing in and out of second-story windows early Sunday morning, looking for hot spots under the eaves.

Fire and county officials didn't return calls for comment, but the Associated Press reported the blaze was caused by a short-circuit in a bathroom fan of one of the rowhomes.

Red Cross spokesman Dave Schrader said he expected the number of people seeking shelter would increase, given the quantity of homes damaged.

Resident Lisa Reitter, 39, said early Sunday morning that the fire seemed to start in the rowhouse next to hers, No. 41. Her three children saw fire trucks, and then firefighters told her to evacuate.

"I didn't smell smoke until I got outside. Then I saw flames," she said, pointing to the roofline.

Reitter stood across the street from the rowhouses, near SEPTA and Amtrak train tracks, while her children, ages 7 to 11, were safely with their grandmother.

"All the homes are evacuated and destroyed," said Elizabeth Tolan, 29, whose two children were taken to their grandmother's house.

The block of rowhouses, all made of brick, with porches, is located just off the last northbound exit on Route 1 before the New Jersey bridge.