Michael Roknick
The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
(TNS)
Sep. 22—DELAWARE TOWNSHIP — When describing last Friday's fire that swept through a Delaware Township farmhouse that killed three children and their mother there was no hesitancy in Dan McBride's voice.
"It was the was worst fire I've ever been involved with," said McBride, Fredonia Volunteer Fire Department's chief.
Mercer County Coroner John Libonati this morning identified the victims:
— Elizabeth Seltzer, 33, the mother of the three children.
— Jordan Seltzer, a 1-year-old boy.
— Ainsley Seltzer, a 3-year-old girl
— Paisley Seltzer, a 6-year-old girl
— The adult male discovered is believed to be the father of the 3 children. But Libonati declined to release his name until forensic results confirm the identity. The two adults were divorced at the time of the blaze, Libonati said.
State police are continuing to investigate the fire and have not released any information since Friday.
Search teams discovered the remains of Paisley Seltzer Tuesday morning, he said. The cause of death for all five victims remains undetermined until an autopsy and other test results are completed in around 3 weeks.
"We have to get all the facts so we can't speculate on that yet," Libonati said.
The cause of the blaze hasn't been determined and continues to be investigated by state police, he said.
A passing motorist reported the call to 911 just after midnight Friday.
When firefighters arrived at the two-story house located 2 miles northwest of Fredonia, they found it already engulfed in flames, McBride said.
He said firefighters didn't know if anyone was inside.
"There weren't people running around outside the home," McBride said.
But the 18-year firefighter veteran said as he and other fire crews viewed the scene, there were signs people were likely inside the inferno.
"There was a car in the driveway and a pet outside that we had to secure," McBride said. "We had a good idea a family was probably inside."
Given the ravaging blaze had already rapidly consumed the house, there was no doubt about the potential outcome.
"We knew if someone was inside they were dead," McBride said.
Ten fire departments with 45 firefighters, along with state police and Life Force ambulance service, responded to fight the blaze at 600 District Road.
Located in a rural setting, the home and surrounding area had no water lines in the immediate area so firefighters improvised using their four water tanker trucks.
Fredonia's tanker truck was first at the scene.
"We set up our water supply at a nearby creek just down the road," he said.
In about 3 hours after the blaze was mostly extinguished, the dreadful job of recovering any victims' remains began.
On Saturday Libonati confirmed four died in the fire and that a fifth person was missing. With the help of volunteers from area fire departments, Mercer County Emergency Management and others an intensive search stretching several hours Tuesday morning led to the discovery of the fifth victim — 6-year-old Paisley Seltzer.
Rose and Black Funeral Home & Crematory in Stoneboro is handling funeral services for the family. Obituary information was still being gathered, said a representative of the funeral home said.
An online gofundme.com page has been created to pay for the family's funeral expenses. As of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday over $33,000 had been donated with a goal of $50,000.
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