Laurel Springs fire kills man, injures girlfriend

A 19-year-old man died and his girlfriend was critically injured yesterday morning when they were trapped by a smoky fire in the basement bedroom of a Laurel Springs home, police said.

Thomas Doherty and Veronica Conway, also 19, were trapped after a fire started in an adjacent laundry room in the house owned by Doherty's parents.

Four other family members were treated for smoke inhalation.

"I could see smoke pouring out the windows and hear the father yelling," said neighbor Lloyd Shaw, who woke about 6:10 a.m. to the sound of fire alarms across the street.

Neighbors found Doherty's father, Liam, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, struggling to break his son's window. The windows had recently been replaced with energy-efficient vinyl and were difficult to open, Shaw said.

Laurel Springs Police Chief Michael Wolcott said that officers arrived at 6:14 a.m. and were able to break the window but that the opening was too small for Thomas Doherty to fit through.

One policeman got inside to the bedroom door but was forced to turn back when his oxygen ran out. Firefighters soon arrived and rescued Conway first, neighbors said.

She was airlifted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was in critical condition yesterday.

Liam Doherty and his wife, Jennifer, and two of their children, Michael, 18, and Erin, 13, were treated at Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Stratford and released.

Douglas Bowie, 19, a friend, said Thomas Doherty worked for Liam Doherty's LTD Construction and was an avid drummer.

"We were always going to concerts," he said. "He always messed around on the drums."

Thomas Doherty played football at Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, where he graduated in 2008, and performed at family gatherings with his garage band, Shoe the Shoeless.

"Anytime you needed help with anything, he was there," Bowie said. "If I needed a ride anywhere, he'd be the first person to offer."

Neighbor Daniel Alibrando said Thomas Doherty was starting his own landscaping business, cutting neighborhood lawns.

The fire remained under investigation yesterday.