Bucks Fire Victim Identified Using Bensalem's DNA Technology

BUCKS COUNTY, PA —The 67-year-old man who died in a fire in Richland Township Saturday has been identified, Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck said Wednesday.

Samuel Harrington's cause of death was determined to be smoke and soot inhalation and thermal burns with the manner of death deemed accidental, Buck said.

Buck said the identification came through the use of the Bensalem Township Police Department's DNA testing technology.

Bensalem is the only police department in Bucks County with the state-of-the-art Thermo-Fischer Rapid Hit ID DNA testing instrument.

"Bensalem has this great technology that most other departments don't have and we don't have," Buck told Patch Wednesday.

She said this was the second time the Warminster-based Bucks County Coroner's Office called for Bensalem's help.

"We weren't sure if we were going to find dental records," Buck said. "It can take quite some time. But we're very happy that Bensalem has this technology. We have the capacity for identification much faster."

Buck said the testing finds a genealogical sample if one exists.

Buck thanked Bensalem Detective Sgt. Glenn Vandegrift for his "assistance and expertise."

The new accelerated testing program allows Bensalem Police to gather real-time results with DNA samples, in as little as 90 minutes, offering law enforcement the ability to test DNA evidence from a crime scene.

Vandegrift told Patch Wednesday that in Harrington's case, a DNA profile was established through a blood sample from his sister and that testing revealed a sibling relationship was identified at 99.99%.

Buck said Harrington's next of kin were notified and were helpful throughout the investigation. The Bucks County Coroner’s Office offers his family and friends sincerest condolences.