No one was
injured in the
blaze, but the
three-story home
at 301 and 303
Radcliffe Street
in the historic
section of
Bristol was
rendered
uninhabitable.
A
159-year-old
brownstone in
Bristol was
severely damaged
by a
"suspicious"
fire that
appears to have
started with
clothes that
were piled up in
the first floor
entranceway.
No one was
injured in the
blaze, but the
three-story home
at 301 and 303
Radcliffe Street
in the historic
section of
Bristol was
rendered
uninhabitable.
Fire Chief Herb
Slack said all
the residents of
the apartments
inside were able
to get out on
their own after
the fire started
about 11:40 p.m.
Friday.
Neighbors
said that
someone piled
clothing in the
entranceway and
lit them on
fire. Officials
confirmed that
the fire appears
to have started
with burning
clothes in the
entranceway on
the first floor.
Slack said
the fire is
suspicious, but
no official
ruling has been
made. County
Fire Marshal
Nicholas
Rafferty
referred further
questions to the
police. Police
Chief Arnold
Porter said
investigators
did take some
people to the
police station
for questioning,
but no charges
have been filed.
Four of the
eight tenants
received shelter
from the Red
Cross.
Ed Brylewski,
who lives in a
second floor
apartment in the
house behind
301/303, said he
woke up about
midnight and
thought someone
had turned the
heater on, but
then he spotted
the flames. He
said he watched
firefighters
battle the
flames
throughout the
night from the
fire escape at
the back of his
apartment.
Jess Graves,
who lives a few
doors down, woke
to the blaring
of the sirens
and stepped
outside to see
the historic
building in
flames. Graves
said flames were
coming out of
the first floor
entranceway and
watched as the
fire grew and
the crowd along
Radcliffe and
Mulberry streets
grew in
intensity.
Slack said
the flames
quickly climbed
up from the
second to the
third floors and
into the attic,
which was a
charred mass of
struts by dawn
Saturday. Slack
used
firefighters
from all the
companies in
Bristol, Bristol
Township, Falls
and Tullytown
and one from
Bensalem to put
the blaze out.
The firefighters
worked into the
morning, putting
out flare-ups
and venting hot
spots. The last
crews left the
scene at 8 a.m.
"The
firefighters
were superb,"
owner Jogina
Picariello said.
"They didn't
just destroy
her; they
respected the
beauty of a
piece of (the
historic home)."
There was
love for the
building in
Picariello's
voice Saturday
night. She and
her husband,
Pasqual
Picariello, live
across the
street and while
they were happy
that no one was
hurt, they were
also worried
they'd lost a
piece of
Bristol's
history.
Initially,
officials told
the Picariellos
that the
building, which
was originally
built in 1851,
may need to be
demolished.
Picariello said
it brought tears
to her eyes.
She's owned the
home for 42
years, since her
son was about 10
months old, she
said.
"It's one of
the first
buildings we
bought,"
Picariello said.
"When you have a
building that
long, it's like
another one of
your children."
So the
Picariellos were
relieved when
officials ruled
that the
building could
stand, though
the third floor,
which had been
made of wood,
had to be
demolished.
Jogina
Picariello said
they are
determined to
fix the "old
girl."
Slack said
that the first
two floors are
old
construction,
masonry, brick
and mortar,
which saved
them.
"If this was
new
construction, it
would be a pile
of rubble,"
Slack said.
