Third DE Firefighter Dies After September Rowhouse Fire

Dec. 1, 2016
Ardythe Hope died from injuries she sustained in a floor collapse at a September rowhome fire in Wilmington.

The Wilmington Fire Department has announced the death of the third firefighter caught in a floor collapse during a rowhome fire in September.

Ardythe Hope, a firefighter who was hurt during a Sept. 24 rowhouse fire, died after being burned over 70 percent of her body. She was part of a team who had entered the building trying to save a family from a raging fire. Four firefighters fell through a floor during the rescue attempt.

The family, a woman, her five children and a visiting child, managed to escape through searing smoke out the back of the home. She and four of the children were treated for smoke inhalation after the 2:54 a.m. blaze.

Hope was being treated at the Crozer-Chester Medical Center burn unit in Upland, PA, where she was airlifted to after the fire.

Lt. Christopher Leach, 41, and firefighter Jerry Fickes, 51, died the day of the fire. 

The deaths caused by the Canby Park fire marked the first deaths within the ranks of the Wilmington firefighter ranks in nearly two decades.

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