Homeowner's Body Found Following Explosions, Massive Fire In Lower Providence Township Townhouses
EAGLEVILLE Pa. (CBS) -- Authorities say they've found the body of the homeowner responsible for an inferno in Eagleville on Thursday. The body of 66-year-old Thomas Razzi was found in the burned-out rubble.
Three townhomes were destroyed, and three others were damaged.
"I don't think anything could be salvaged," Yasmine Elsayed said.
The charred scene behind Yasmine is what is left of her family home.
"There were like three bombs, booms while we were inside," Yasmine said.
She was inside the home on Cardin Place in Lower Providence Township on Thursday afternoon babysitting her two younger siblings.
"I yelled at them to get outside while I grabbed my dog," Yasmine said.
Yasmine is turning 14 in two weeks. Her quick action to leave with her siblings and dog rather than hide likely saved their lives because as soon as they reached a neighbor's home an inferno erupted.
It was the family's next-door neighbor -- 66-year-old Thomas Razzi, who police say was responsible for the explosive fire that began after they say he confronted a code enforcement officer with a gun.
"It was a follow-up inspection for a hoarding situation," Lower Providence Township Police Chief Mike Jackson said.
When officers arrived, police say Razzi retreated into his home and a fire started.
"At no time during this incident, did any police officer discharge their firearm or do we have any information to suggest that Mr. Razzi discharged his firearm into the neighborhood or at police officers," Jackson said.
Investigators believe the loud pops heard by the community were caused by items inside the home igniting.
"Apparently, he had a hobby of making his own fireworks," Jackson said, "and he had numerous amount of ammunition inside the residence."
Razzi's body was located on the scene just before midnight Thursday.
This family says they didn't know their neighbor well but said he was always kind.
"I'm thankful that I was safe and made it out in time," Yasmine said.
The code enforcement officer suffered minor injuries.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Elsayeds. You can donate by clicking here.
