Penn Township family receives community support after house fire

Greg Benson and his wife, Donna, had no idea their house was on fire Thursday evening.

“A passerby came beating on the front door. We have two chocolate Labs, and I thought it was my oldest son just trying to irritate the dogs,” said Greg, 65, of Penn Township. “I didn’t pay any attention to him. Finally, the person beating on the door screams ‘Your house is on fire,’ and that got my attention.”

The corner of the home, located on the 300 block of Mt. Manor Road, caught fire around 4:45 p.m. Donna, 54, was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Greg was drafting an email and watching TV.

Dave Phillians, who knocked on the door, was driving home from work when he saw black smoke rising from the residence.

Phillians, who lives over the hill from the Bensons, said he saw a tractor and the corner of the home ablaze when he pulled into the driveway.

As Donna called 911, Greg attempted to douse the flames with a hose.

“It was pretty engulfed to the point that the little (hose) wasn’t going to work,” Phillians said.

Phillians’ wife, Dawn, watched the fire grow from her kitchen window.

“It was black, thick smoke,” Dawn said. “It just engulfed in flames.”

Within 15 minutes, Mt. Manor Road was swarming with fire trucks and emergency personnel, with two helicopters flying overhead. Greg, Donna and their two dogs — Ginger and Nutmeg — got out of the house safely with no injuries. The firefighters managed to save the family’s two red-eared slider turtles.

“All you heard was more sirens and more sirens and more sirens,” Dawn said.

Most everything in the home is unsalvageable, Greg said. Some clothes, smelling strongly of smoke, photos, a grill and a smoker were all that Greg and his sons — David, 26, and Charlie, 30 — could retrieve from the home Friday when they returned to the charred shell.

“I probably had enough woodworking tools in that garage to outfit a small woodworking shop, and everything’s buried in there,” Greg said. “We’re in the process of building a greenhouse up there, and I just had $5,000 worth of twin-wall plastic (delivered) … Now it’s laying in a molten mess in the middle of the garage.”

But one of the hardest losses is the attic, Greg said.

“We moved in here in November of 2000. And November of ’93, we moved into a house in California. In November of ’92, we moved into a house in Minnesota. In November of ’88, we moved into a house in Virginia — 35 years ago. November is our anniversary.

“My wife says to me this morning, ‘It’s time for a new house. Our anniversary is coming.’ All of those houses and all the memories from those houses and the kids growing up were in that attic.

“Everything’s up here,” Greg said, gesturing to his head. “At least we’re still here to talk about it.”

The aid from emergency personnel, neighbors and friends has been a comfort for the family.

Several neighbors have stopped by to check in on Greg, Donna and David, who also lives at the Mt. Manor residence. Friends from a local Scout troop lugged water, Gatorade and food up the hilly road Thursday evening. Greg wore a pair of Charlie’s shoes and a neighbor’s jacket when he visited the home Friday.

Local volunteers from the American Red Cross’s Disaster Action Team responded to a call for help at the home Thursday. They delivered blankets, comfort kits containing personal hygiene products and a list of resources for the Benson family to get in touch with.

The Red Cross will continue to support the family, said Regional Communications Director Nicole Roschella.

“We’re not just there in the initial hours following the fire,” Roschella said. “We’re following up with the families in the days and weeks after to help them through the recovery process.”

This year, the Red Cross has responded to more than 50 house fires in the county, which have impacted more than 130 people, Roschella said. House fires are the majority of the disasters the organization responds to, she said.

Greg, Donna and David are staying with Charlie in his Penn Township home. The family is working with their insurance company to arrange a home rental. Greg hopes to rebuild on the Mt. Manor Road property someday.

Greg was moved by the number of emergency vehicles that littered the street Thursday night, sprawling a half mile in either direction, he said.

“It was amazing, and how fast they were. And for volunteers and it being dinner time. You can’t ask for more,” Greg said, tearing up.