Man In Critical Condition After Bensalem Township House Fire

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —A wheelchair-bound elderly man was listed in critical condition Friday following an overnight fire in which he was unresponsive and rescued from his Kings Lane home, police said.

At 11:46 p.m. Thursday, police said Thomas Risich, 76, of 767 Kings Lane, dialed 911 and reported a fire in his living room.

He told dispatchers that he was wheelchair-bound and that he was in the bathroom in the rear of the home and could not escape, the Bensalem Township Police Department said.

Upon arrival, there was fire and heavy smoke coming from the home.

Firefighters entered the home through the rear bathroom window and found Risich unresponsive on the bathroom floor under the window.

He was removed from the home through the window where his care was turned over to paramedics from Bensalem EMS.

Risich was transported to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital by ambulance, and then airlifted to Jefferson Hospital in Center City, where he is listed in critical condition.

Once the fire was extinguished, Battalion Chief Rob Sponheimer conducted an investigation into the cause.

His preliminary findings indicate that the fire was accidental and most likely caused by a faulty space heater in the living room. The investigation is ongoing and the home has been deemed uninhabitable.

Police and firefighters from Cornwells, Eddington, Nottingham, Union, Newport, and Trevose fire companies, along with Bensalem EMS and Sponheimer responded.

Crews wrapped up the scene around 2 a.m. Friday.