Officials reveal cause of fire that displaced family of 8 in Bucks County
PENNDEL, Pa. (WPVI) -- Officials say a fire on Thursday in Penndel, Bucks County, started from an unattended fire pit.
According to the fire marshal's office, the fire pit ignited nearby combustibles and spread to the house.
READ MORE: Police officer rescues 8 people from inside burning duplex in Bucks County, officials say
The blaze broke out around 4:45 a.m. on West Woodland Avenue.
A Penndel Borough police officer was working his overnight shift when he noticed a house across from the station on fire.
Officer Sean Peck said he heard neighbor, Justin Ritorto, knocking and shouting to alert the residents. Peck then entered the smoke-filled home to wake the family.
"I started waking up all of the people inside, and it was a chaotic scene as you can imagine, trying to wake people up at 4 a.m., and there is a massive fire going on," Peck told Action News.
Three children and five adults were able to escape safely, but the family's pet bunny did not survive.
