1 Dead, 2 Firefighters Injured In Cheltenham Shopping Center Fire
By Jim Melwert and Al Novack
CHELTENHAM, Pa. (CBS) -- One person is dead, two firefighters are injured, after a two-alarm fire at the Melrose Shopping Center.
Chetenham Township Fire Chief Rick Schuck says police were the first to arrive on scene, and they pulled a man out of the burning building, but that man died from his injuries at a nearby hospital. Fire officials say the victim was a security guard at the shopping center.
The fire went to two alarms, as it damaged four stores, two of those with heavy damage.
"A lot of ice, frozen lines, we actually had a frozen water main," Chief Schuck says. "The cold is a real problem. We're getting people out as quick as we can, we're rotating crews more often than we would in regular weather."
They brought township salt trucks out to help battle the ice and a SEPTA bus to give firefighters a chance to thaw out as they battled this fire.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries in a small explosion near the rear of the building. They were treated on the scene.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
