The victim of Monday morning’s fire in the Newtown Grant neighborhood in Newtown Township was identified by the Bucks County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday.
Bucks County Coroner Patti Campi identified 77-year-old Loretta Catozzi as the victim of the fire that occurred on Monday.
Fire crews discovered Catozzi’s body in her second-floor bedroom in the pre-dawn hours, authorities said.
Newtown Township police and Newtown Township Emergency Services were dispatched to Catozzi’s residence in the 400 block of Mahogany Walk at approximately 4:27 a.m. for reports of a fire.
Upon arrival, police and firefighters were met with heavy smoke and flames billowing from the structure.
Newtown Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Nicholas Weaver reported that initial reports indicated several individuals might have been inside the home at the time of the fire. However, it was later confirmed that Catozzi was the only person in the residence.
The intensity of the fire and smoke hindered officials’ efforts to enter the home.
The blaze was brought under control just before 5 a.m.
According to online records, Catozzi was a mother and grandmother. She was retired from Macy’s and her husband of 47 years passed away in 2022.
The investigation into the fire determined the cause to be accidental, Weaver said.
Newtown Township Fire Rescue was assisted at the scene by the Langhorne-Middletown, Lingohocken, Northampton, Upper Makefield, and Yardley-Makefield fire companies. In addition to Newtown Ambulance Squad, Central Bucks EMS and the Penndel-Middletown Emergency Squad were at the scene.
