Cops, Courts & Fire -Bristol Borough
Fire Chief: All Recent Bristol Fires Appear to be Accidental
Beginning Wednesday tipsters started to weigh in on the cause and reasons for Tuesday’s fire that left six Spruce Street homes wrecked and 27 people displaced
“Arson” one person said. A second voiced similar concerns pointing the fires on Buckley Street (2) Jefferson Avenue and with the fires on Spruce Street some still remain unsettled or unconvinced by the spectre of of those fires.
Late Wednesday, Lower Bucks Source received information, from a well placed source, investigators were preliminarily looking into whether an ion battery is the cause of Tuesday fires The investigating Bucks County Fire Marshal is Kevin Pugh. The publication contacted Pugh after hearing the ion battery theory a second time, from an informed first responder resource. Pugh, as of Friday 4:30 pm, did not respond to requests for comments specific to the ion battery theory.
Meanwhile, last night Lower Bucks Source published a story based upon detailed comments from Bucks County Fire Marshal John Gundy covering the two Buckley Street fires. Gundy ruled both as accidental and said the source of the first fire could not be determined. He said the “likely” genesis for the second fire was “excessive storage.” The information was met with doubt and derision.
This afternoon, in response to questions about Spruce St. Fires, Bristol Borough Fire Chief Herb Slack said he hasn’t heard from the investigating fire marshal but wanted to clear the smoke away about an arsonist working in Bristol Borough or the loud chatter about any of the fires.
“Some of the information and theories that are floating around are based on rumors and do not seem to be consistent with any of the facts. Some of the rumors of different fires may be getting lumped together to create new rumors.”
“For all those people who are concerned about an arsonist running loose, because of all the recent serious fires that have occurred in the Borough, all of the fires appear to be accidental,” he said speaking of the fires at: 220 Buckley; 220 Buckley (2) 433 Jefferson Ave-still under investigation; 647 Spruce St;
Credit: Oliver Miller
In a related item there will be a Beef N Beer fundraiser for the six families that lost everything as a result of the Spruce St Fires at the Bristol Borough Senior Center Saturday Sept 30 from 2 pm to 5:30 pm $25 at the door.
Music! Food! 20 Raffle Baskets. All proceeds go to the families. For more information you can contact 267-210-9374 or reach out to Northward Councilman Bryan Johnson.
Bristol Borough Fire Chief Herb Slack on Tuesday morning released the following statement on last nights Dorrance Street Fire.
It’s only been edited for style:
Credit: Submitted
Credit: Joe Nelson
Cops
Emergency Crews Prepare for Incoming Blizzard as Lower Bucks Municipalities Declare Storm Plans
Lower Bucks municipalities have declared disaster/snow emergencies in advance of the expected snow storm that the National Weather Service says will dump anywhere between 14 to 18 inches on the area.
A winter storm warning is still in effect from Sunday, Feb 22 to Monday, Feb 23.
Each municipality has its own link. For more information and updates, please click on their associated link.
Bensalem Township – Disaster Emergency declared immediately for the pending snow storm. Click here to see more details.
Bristol Borough – Snow information/requirements have been posted on their website. Click here to see the details.
Bristol Township – Snow Emergency effective 12 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 through 12 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. Click here to see more details.
Falls Township – Snow Emergency starts Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. and expires on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6 a.m. Click here for details.
Langhorne Borough – Snow Emergency starts Sunday, Feb. 22 at noon until Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. No parking. Click here for details.
Lower Makefield Township – Snow information has been posted on Meta. Click here to see the details.
Middletown Township – Snow Emergency is in effect from Sunday, Feb. 22 at 12 p.m. to Monday, Feb. 23 at 12 p.m. . Click here to see details.
Morrisville Borough – Snow Emergency is in effect from Sunday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. to Monday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. Click here to see the details.
Newtown Township – A Snow Emergency is in effect from 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 until 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Click here to see the details.
Penndel Borough – Snow Emergency has been declared from 12 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 2026, through 12 p.m. on Monday, February 23, 2026. Click here for more details and click here for more on the ordinance.
Tullytown Borough – Snow Emergency proclamation in effect from Sunday Feb. 22 – 6 p.m. to Monday Feb. 23 – 6 p.m. Click here to see more details.
Warminster Township – Disaster Emergency has been declared for the incoming snow storm, effective Sunday Feb. 22, 2026 at 12 p.m. through Tuesday, Feb. 24,2026 at 12 p.m.. Click here to see the details and click here to see the declaration from Township Manager Tom Scott.
Yardley Borough – Snow Emergency proclamation in effect from Sunday Feb. 22 – 4 p.m. to Monday Feb. 23 – 4 p.m. . Click here to see the details. and click here to see declaration/other information from Mayor Caroline Thompson.
The primary concern is safety. Take care of yourselves and check on neighbors and those who may be vulnerable.
Please stay safe, take all necessary precautions, and keep your devices charged.
Click here for updates from the National Weather Service
Click here for PECO’s outage map.
Cops, Courts & Fire -Bristol Borough
Cops: Bristol Man Charged with Robbery; Suspect Identified Via Sports Jacket Seen on Video During Altercation
A Bristol Borough man was taken into custody and jailed Friday night accused of robbery, simple assault, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct stemming from a Jan. 26 incident at the Sunoco Gas Station on Bath Road and Rt 13.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Bristol Borough Police were dispatched to the gas station/convenience store at 10:45 p.m by 911 after the assault/robbery was called in by gas station staff.
Responding police officers met with the employee who said two men entered the store and one attempted to rob him, assaulted him, damaged the store and then fled on foot. The employee said one of the two suspects reached through the safety glass that is usually in place during night hours, punching him in the face and neck area several times and breaking his glasses, the criminal complaint alleges.
Officers noted, in the probable cause, visible bruising on the employee’s face from the robbery assault. In addition, there were a number of store items damaged.
The victim told police the direction the suspects fled which officers canvassed and came up empty in the suspect search.
On Jan 27 officers reviewed gas station security video footage (no audio) showing, according to the probable cause, Mark Rodriguez (who police had yet to identify) getting into an argument with the victim, reaching underneath the security window, pulling it up and pummeling the victim.
The unidentified man with Rodriguez remained nearby but was on his cell phone, police said, at the time of the assault and was wearing a Bristol High School sports jacket.
Bristol Borough Police identified the owner of the jacket (a minor) with help from school district officials. The minor provided a written statement to police identifying a family member of his/hers (Rodriguez) as the suspect who assaulted the Sunoco Gas Station employee and that he was present for the altercation.
The written statement was facilitated by Bristol Borough Middle/High School Lead Teacher Mike Poploskie, and sent via email to lead investigator/officer Chris Tehan. Subsequently police were able to confirm Rodriguez’s identity and that he lives on the 150 block of Otter Street.
About one week later, police met with the parents of the student who was present at the altercation in which the minor was interviewed by police.
The youngster provided police with a “voluntary” statement confirming his/her previous written statement and allowing police to have a warrant issued for Rodriguez’s arrest.
Rodriguez was arraigned by on-call District Judge Mark D. Douple last Friday on robbery and related counts. He set bail at 10 percent of $75,000.00 and remanded Rodriguez to Bucks County Jail until his next hearing date, currently set for Feb 25.
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