An employee at Newtown Hardware House is being recognized for saving part of State Street from a major fire after quickly extinguishing a kitchen blaze in an apartment above the store.
Newtown Fire-Rescue Chief Glenn Forsyth commended the employee during the Wednesday evening Newtown Borough Council meeting.
“On April 18, we had an apartment fire over top of the Newtown Hardware House. With the quick action of an employee from Newtown Hardware House, he was able to contain that fire to the kitchen area,” Forsyth told council members.
“If he hadn’t been there or had a fire extinguisher accessible, State Street could have been looking at a totally different disaster in that block of State Street,” Forsyth said.
The chief noted that the quick thinking prevented what could have been a devastating situation for the historic central business district in the borough.
The employee, identified only as Alex during the meeting, was described as humble by Newtown Borough police Chief James Sabath, who had hoped to formally recognize the employee during the council session.
“I told him before the meeting, I’m going to recognize you during the meeting. Then he ran out. He’s very humble,” Sabath said.
Sabath said a resident came down from the apartment “frantic” after suffering some burns and that pushed Alex to quickly run upstairs with a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.
“Lord knows that’s a timber box there with that age building and everything else. So it was quite the act. He was quite the hero that day,” Sabath added.
“The hazards in Newtown Borough are extremely high,” Forsyth stated. “With the help of the employees and the people that work there, we were successful in containing this fire to just the kitchen area.”
Newtown Hardware House is one of the community’s oldest businesses, and the building dates back to 1869.
The fire was one of 20 calls for service that Newtown Fire-Rescue responded to within the borough during April, according to the fire chief’s monthly report. He added that the department also completed 40 fire safety inspections during the month.
Advertisement
Meet Your Canna Coach: Personalized Guidance, Free for You!
