A lifelong Hamilton Township man died in a fire early Thursday morning.Firefighters were alerted to the blaze in the township’s Mizpah section after a passerby called at about 3:45 a.m., Mizpah Fire Chief Jay Davenport II said.When Davenport arrived at the home near Harding Highway and Landis Avenue, it was already fully involved, “from the basement to the treetops,” he saidHe and an officer on scene then heard honking.They had to step over live, arcing wires to get to the backyard, where the elderly homeowner told them her son had gotten her out, then went back into the basement to see what the issue was, Davenport said.They tried to battle the fire inside, but “the walls kept collapsing, the roof collapsed.”“It became an external attack only,” he said.Leslie Johnson, 65, was found dead in the basement four hours later, Davenport said.He said the family had lived at the home all Johnson’s life.Johnson was “a very helpful person,” Davenport said.“If he would see you working in your yard, he would stop and help,” he said. “He always made sure his mother was very well taken care of.”The cause of the fire is believed to be a heater malfunction.
