Basement Fire at 111 S. Chester Road

Multiple crews respond to blaze in Chester Road apartment building.

Firefighters were called to the Swarthmore Apartments at 111 S. Chester Road on Sunday, March 8, at 6:07 a.m. for a “general basement fire alarm.” First on the scene was Assistant Chief Rick Lee, who entered the building to size up the situation. Opening the boiler room door, he saw an orange glow on top of the boiler, and heavy smoke, whereupon he quickly closed the door and backed out of the building. 

Lee used his radio to transmit a situation report. Apparatus arrived from both Swarthmore and Morton/Rutledge, bringing enough firefighters to attack the fire. They entered the boiler room through an outside door and quickly put the fire out, shutting off the gas and clearing out the smoke. Fire departments from Swarthmore, Morton/Rutledge, Garden City, South Media, and Springfield responded. 

Broomall responded as well, for the rapid intervention team — RIT — a crew strictly for rescuing emergency personnel should the need arise. Some form of RIT is required by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1500 and Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 291910. RITs assemble rescue tools and spare breathing apparatus but cannot be used for firefighting. A minimum RIT crew consists of a driver, an officer, and at least three air pack-qualified firefighters. 

Residents were permitted back to their apartments after approximately 90 minutes.