Wissinoming man dead after fire at his home

Robert Irvine was a man of routine, neighbors and colleagues said, the kind of guy you could set a clock to. Irvine, who worked for the city as a welder, always got up early on his days off, hopped into his Chevrolet pickup, and headed to a nearby Wawa store for coffee.

But Monday morning around 7:30, about an hour after a neighbor said that Irvine, 60, usually left his Wissinoming home, Philadelphia firefighters responded to a call there. The blaze was under control within 20 minutes, but Irvine's body was found on the house's first floor.

Firefighters had not determined how the blaze began, pending an investigation by the Fire Marshal's Office, but said it may have been caused by a cigarette.

Neighbors said Irvine was a Vietnam veteran who lived alone in his home on the 4100 block of East Howell Street, about a half-block from Wissinoming Park.

"He was quiet," said one neighbor who asked not to be identified. "You didn't even know he was there, really. But he was a nice guy."

Irvine was also a hoarder, according to fire officials. His next-door neighbor said trash was piled more than a foot high throughout the interior of the home.

"He never put out the trash," the neighbor said. "He had bags of cigarette butts."

Al Chernoff, a coworker of Irvine's who came by the house Monday afternoon when he heard what had happened, said Irvine was a former Marine grew up in Philadelphia. He had worked for the city since 1987, records showed.

"He was a real matter-of-fact guy," Chernoff said. "He did his job and he went home."

Irvine's relatives all live out of state, Chernoff said.

Chernoff, one of Irvine's former supervisors, said he used to see him daily. In recent years, Chernoff was transferred, but said Irvine would still drop by his office once in a while to say hello.

"When the guys at work saw the news, we were all upset," Chernoff said. "He was the kind of guy who kept to himself - but you still get used to seeing someone around."