This was a real human tragedy in one act heartbreaker...we aren't talking about development projects independent of the Ardmore Redevelopment Plan, we're talking about the recent house fire that destroyed a converted Victorian at 155 Cricket Avenue in Ardmore. It was a rental property, and is owned by folks named Bowdon (reference public property records at www.montcopa.org PARID: 400013912007, Deed Book and Page 4943-00103 ) who also own a property at 1 West Athens Avenue (reference PARID: 400002576003, Deed Book and Page 4943-00105). The buzz we're hearing about the landlord and years of purported issues on the property that burned are bad enough, but apprently their are some concerns about the 1 West Athens Ave - which we would hope the township would check quite carefully considering it is a row house and if THAT house got a fire in the walls, it would destroy a lot of properties and lives, right? Maybe all of these converted houses need as much OR MORE scrutiny as a regular apartment building? Is it not true that one of the problems in Ardmore are the absentee landlords? And just as up on the business district at the pike, aren't these folks a bit concerning? Especially as Ardmore enters this redevelopment shouldn't these absentee commercial and residential landlords be sprucing up along with everyone else? And if they don't care about the communities in which they own real property isn't that a sad thought indeed?

There is a story of a woman and her young son in this week's Main Line Life. Originally from Romania, they have lost everything and family is quite obviously so far away. What can we do as a community for these people? What can be done to ensure these converted houses without a landlord on the premises are in good order? This is crucial, especially in these Victorians because more often than not they are frame construction, and depending upon when later homes were built there was this thing that you often see in twins called "balloon" construction.

In any event, a house fire beyond anyone's control has left people adrift who are part of our community. If anyone has an idea of how we could all help these people if they need help, please post a response. Please read this article, provided through the courtesy of Main Line Life. We would also like to commend and applaud Chief Tom Hayden of Ardmore and Ardmore Rotary by helping these folks. They are wonderful in their generosity of heart and spirit.
'When kids are involved, we step up'
Woman's American Dream is alive and well thanks to Main Line community
By Cheryl Allison

A damaging fire in Ardmore last week could have destroyed a mother's dream of opportunity in America.Instead, it has affirmed her hopes of finding "kindness, caring and generosity" here.

Conserta Maria Dumutru and her son Alexandru Caleneschu, 11, were asleep in their third-floor apartment in a large Victorian house at 155 Cricket Ave. when fire broke out shortly before 3:30 a.m. March 27.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Lower Merion Deputy Chief Fire Officer Al Brown said it appears to have started in a wall of the first-floor entry hall.

With the frame construction of the older building, fire "went up and over fast" to the roof level.

A first-floor apartment in the triplex was empty, and three young adults and Dumutru and her son all were able to get out safely.

Firefighters from the Merion Fire Co. of Ardmore, the lead company, and Bryn Mawr, Gladwyne and Penn Wynne stations, battled the blaze for more than three hours, clearing the scene at about 7 a.m.

About 90 firefighters in all, with Radnor Fire Co. and Narberth Ambulance assisting, worked the call.

It was "the worst house fire in a couple of years here," said Ardmore Chief Tom Hayden.

The more than century-old building was left standing, but blackened and gutted.

....In fact, Dumutru, who came to Ardmore about two years ago from her native Romania, had "lost everything," Hayden said.

That's when his company stepped in again. "By the time I got back to the station," the chief said, "the firefighters had put the money together to buy a new Play Station."

A few hours later, when Hayden, a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Ardmore, told members at a lunch meeting about the family's situation, "They passed around the hat" and came up with more than $500.

Last Friday morning at the firehouse, Hayden and Brown and several of the station volunteers presented a gift bag....I'm overwhelmed,"said Dumutru, whose English is limited, reading from a message she had written.

"I came to the United States for opportunity for me and my son, out of an expectation of kindness, caring and generosity," she said. "Thank you, thank my neighbors. You have exceeded my expectations."

Dumutru went on to thank the American Red Cross, which has helped her and Alex, as well as the other apartment house residents.

"This wonderful fire company – I thank you for your bravery, your professionalism and your unbelievable generosity," she said.

.....With Dumutru was a friend, Jack Londergan. An employee of the Armen car dealership in Ardmore, he said he met her about a year ago, when the dealership asked him to help her with a problem. They have since started dating.

"She has been here [in this country] with very little money and no support system," he told the firefighters. Londergan said she was especially touched when he explained to her, after the fire, that they are volunteers; that "These are people working together to respond to a tragedy."

In a conversation later, Londergan said Dumutru had been a lab technician in Romania. Since she settled in Ardmore, she had worked as a health care worker, cleaned houses – "worked seven days a week doing whatever she could to raise money."

One goal had been to bring Alex to live with her. He had been in Romania with his father. Only this past December, during the holidays, Alex arrived to join her....Hayden said his company has helped fire victims sometimes in the past.

"You don't often run into families that don't have any insurance at all," he said.

"When kids are involved," though, "we step up."