Woman dies in fierce Bucks County house fire

A fierce blaze in Upper Southampton Township killed a 55-year-old woman early Sunday morning, officials said.

The fire, in the 700 block of Sycamore Drive, was reported at about 2:30 a.m., said Raymond M. Grossmuller, chairman of the board of supervisors in the Bucks County township.

“Just horrible,” he said.

The fire was first reported by someone who had been driving past the house, said Glenn McKenney, chief of Southampton Fire Co.

McKenney said he was the first to arrive at the split-level house, finding flames coming out of windows on both levels and the front door.

“At one point during the fire we had to evacuate all the firefighters from the house because conditions became very intense,” McKenney said. The roof collapsed at about 3:30 a.m., officials said.

Only one person was home at the time of the fire, McKenney said. Her identity was not disclosed Sunday. Her body was found in a bedroom on the upper floor, the chief said.

An autopsy was scheduled to determine her cause of death, McKenney said.

It took close to an hour for 30 to 40 firefighters to get the blaze under control, he said.