Monday afternoon, the Box Assignment was dispatched to the Brandywine Ridge section of West Bradford Township for a house fire with reported entrapment. Assistant 39 arrived to report smoke showing and everyone out of the residence. Engine 38 arrived first and stretched a hand line to the front door, while the crews performed a search of the first and second floors to confirm no one was left in the house, Engine 46-2 arrived shortly after and assisted with water supply and the crew advanced the hand line to the upstairs bedroom where they were met with heavy smoke and heat conditions, the crew opened the closed bedroom door to find a small fire in the corner behind the dresser and extinguished it with a minimal amount of water. The additional arriving crews began checking for fire extension and performing ventilation.

This fire was a prime example of closing your bedroom door while sleeping or any door that there may be fire within that room, the homeowner advised, that he learned years ago, when there was a fire to close the door and keep the fire contained within that room. If the homeowner would not have retained that information, this fire certainly would have spread throughout the entire house causing additional damage. That is why when we teach Fire Prevention in our local schools we make certain to tell the children to keep their doors closed while sleeping and if there is a fire to close the door behind them when exiting the residence if they can do so safely.