Man, 72, dies in blaze in his Southwark home

ALFRED REITANO, 72, was a quiet fixture on Watkins Street above 5th, in Southwark. Known by neighbors as "Fred," he was a man of routine who spent more than half his life in the neighborhood.

That life ended tragically Monday morning, when Reitano, a 40-year resident of the block, died in a small fire at his home.

The faint smell of smoke lingered over the street's rowhouses late Monday afternoon as the neighborhood's familiar quiet was replaced by the hammers of a work crew. Relatives embraced in the street, crying quietly as the residence was boarded up.

Neighbors remembered Reitano as a man who kept to himself, an Army veteran who routinely sat on the porch with his late wife.

"He was a nice guy - real, real nice. Good family man," said neighbor Daisy Elliott, who knew Reitano for 50 years. "He was a quiet man. He always sat on the porch with his wife and sister-in-law, and sometimes I went over and sat with him."

Elliott, who said Reitano was legally blind and a diabetic, said much of Reitano's family remained in the neighborhood, including a daughter and sister-in-law who lived on the block.

"Very, very sad," said Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, adding that smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide detectors were working in the home. "The things we ask [people] to do were done."

Crews responded to an 8:31 a.m. call after neighbors on nearby Pierce Street saw smoke coming from Reitano's home. After forcing entry, firefighters found his body on the kitchen floor.

Ayers said crews saw only a wisp of smoke and had the fire under control in 18 minutes. Although the investigation was continuing, he said crews found the water running when they arrived, which led him to believe that Reitano had tried to put the fire out.

The tragedy highlights the danger of not following fire-safety rules, especially among the city's elderly, said Ayers.

"If there's smoke in the area, you have to get out," he said, adding that residents should leave the firefighting to professionals. "We put it out. If this gentleman had just come out and called 9-1-1 . . . he was quite capable. He just failed to get out."