An “extreme hoarding situation” at a home in Berwyn hampered firefighting efforts Monday morning and led to the bungalow’s first floor collapsing into the basement.
There was so much damage to the home at 2813 Wenonah that “we had to pull an emergency demolition,” Berwyn Fire Chief Denis O’Halloran said. The “extreme hoarding situation” in the home prevented firefighters from entering the home to put out the fire, the chief said.
The fire was so intense that the first floor of the home collapsed into the basement, he said.
The call for the fire was received by the fire department at 3:15 a.m. and the fire was under control by about 5:45 a.m.
No one was living in the home at the time, and the Berwyn Fire Department is trying to locate the owner.
“The building had been vacant for about 10 years,” O’Halloran said.
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