Friends and family are mourning an elderly couple who died in an early morning house fire in the Elkins Park section of Cheltenham Township.
The fire started at a home on the 600 block of Spring Avenue shortly after 4:30 a.m. Sunday. When firefighters arrived, flames were coming from a second-floor bedroom. The flames quickly spread to the rest of the house, causing the front ceiling to collapse. Battling the fire and their own exhaustion, firefighters brought the blaze under control around 7 a.m. They then found the bodies of the homeowners inside, identified by family members as Helen Finestone and her husband Roy Finestone. Both victims were 98-years-old.
"It really hurts," the couple's nephew, Aaron Finestone, told NBC10. "I just want to stop by and find closure. Pay my respects."
Loved ones say Helen and Roy raised their family in the Spring Avenue home.
"Their whole life was just devotion to their family," Aaron Finestone said. "It was extraordinary."
Aaron Finestone told NBC10 his aunt and uncle's love story spanned at least 75 years. The couple married before Roy, a supply officer in the Navy, went on to serve in World War II.
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"They both grew up in Feltonville," Aaron Finestone said. "The two families knew each other and they were in Clara Barton Elementary School together."
The couple's neighbors were able to escape the fire though their home sustained major heat and smoke damage. It may take some time before they're able to return. Firefighters say there were smoke detectors inside the home though no one heard them go off.
"I'm sad," Robert Mandel, the Finestones' neighbor, told NBC10. "You never want to see tragedy. Especially when it's on your street."
Investigators determined the fire was accidental in nature due to an electrical source.
