At last week’s Penndel Borough Council meeting officials honored a man for his courageous actions during a building fire on July 6 that saved at least four lives.
Just before 12:30 pm Jason Steere was driving on Durham Road in Penndel when he spotted a two-story building in flames. The structure located on 100 block of Durham Road was engulfed in flames and it was a one of the many brutally hot days with the heat index peaking at about 104.
Steere stopped his vehicle and notified the business owner who was totally unaware her building was on fire. Mr. Steere assisted the building owner from the first floor and proceeded to the south side of the structure where he was met with heavy fire and smoke conditions. Mr. Steere started yelling to the residents on the second floor to alert them of the fire, officials said.
Due to the only means of egress being the steps from the deck and were fully engulfed, the residents were forced to jump from the rear of the deck and were assisted by Mr. Steere to safety, said officials.
“The brave actions and selflessness that Mr. Steere showed that day ultimately saved the lives of four people,” said officials.
Steere was recognized by state Sen. Frank Farry, state Rep. Joe Hogan; Chief of Police Sean Perry; Fire Marshal Jim Bampfield; and Mayor Tom Sodano.
There is no doubt, if not for the actions of Jason Steere, this could have resulted in a multiple fatalities.
The blaze was caused accidentally by the “careless disposal of smoking materials that ignited combustible materials under the steps on the south side of the structure, ” said Bampfield.
No one was seriously injured in the fire a pet cat did perish officials said at the time of the blaze.
A Third District firefighter was treated at a local medical facility for heat exhaustion with a second treated on scene, officials said.
Credit: Third District Fire Company
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