Fire Damages Tyler Walk Residence

A fast-moving fire left a townhouse with heavy damage and a family temporarily homeless.

No injuries were reported in the Thursday night blaze and the cause remains under investigation, Newtown Township Fire Marshal Don Harris said.

Around 7:30 p.m. Thursday night, an 18-year-old resident of 4 East Park Road, in the Tyler Walk development, saw a strange glow coming from the door to the attic. When he pulled the door down he spotted fire, said Valerie Davis, a friend of the family that was displaced.

The teen grabbed his 16-year-old sibling and rushed out of the home as the flames spread to a second floor bedroom, Davis said.

"I saw [the 18-year-old] rush out of the house yelling that his bedroom was on fire," said Cherie Joy, who lives in the townhouse that directly adjoins 4 East Park Road.

The mother of the 16- and 18-year-old was out to dinner with her two youngest children when the fire struck, Davis added.

The extent of the fire damage was contained to 4 East Park Road, neighbors and officials said.

Joy said each unit of the townhouse development is separated by a firewall, which she credits with stopping the flames from spreading to her residence.

The family stayed with friends last night and is receiving assistance from the Red Cross.

Residents in the neighborhood said they question whether the fire could have been connected to a power transformer that malfunctioned just hours before the blaze.

Newtown's fire marshal said it was too early to tell whether the power problems played a role in the fire. He said an electrician was headed to the home to assist investigators Friday.