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According to a Philadelphia Fire Department spokesman, the fire originated in a first-floor dining room when a lighted Sterno can — a device used to keep buffet trays warm — burned through a table, fell to the floor and ignited curtains. The flames soon spread through the wooden interior of the home, which was decked out in all of the Christmas decorations accumulated by the family over the previous 22 years.
The Dunphys had lived there since moving from Northwood in 1985.
Angelique and Brianna were the first to discover the fire. The older daughter recalls screaming, "Get out. Get out." The racket awakened young Michael, who raced up to the second floor and pulled his two youngest sisters to safety.
Meanwhile, Manion and Dziengelski roused the parents before fleeing through billowing smoke, down the stairs and outside. But there was one problem.
"They thought I followed them, but I couldn’t breathe," Janet Dunphy said. "I ran back. I thought I could wet a towel to cover my mouth."
But in those few split seconds, the stairs became impassable. She had no way to get down to the first floor.
Outside, the escapees gathered at their designated emergency meeting spot, the end of the driveway. But Janet was nowhere to be found.
Realizing that she was still inside, Dziengelski raced back into the burning house. His shirt caught fire and burned his neck, but he couldn’t reach the woman, who had retreated into a bathroom.
Dziengelski returned outside and stood below the bathroom window with the senior Michael Dunphy as Janet pried open the aged sash, climbed through the opening and dangled down the exterior wall with her hands clutching the sill above. Then she let go, dropping nearly 20 feet as Dziengelski broke her fall.
"Scott and I were standing under the window," the older Michael Dunphy said. "I think he got most of her."
"They were amazing. For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget how brave they were," Janet Dunphy said of the heroics. "The fact that Scott tried to run back into the house the second time to get me is beyond me."
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Bensalem Township police were the first emergency vehicles to arrive at the home, which is on the Philadelphia side of the border with Bucks County. It was then that Janet Dunphy first realized that she had suffered heavy burns to her left arm. She was also suffering from smoke inhalation. The officers put her into a police car until an ambulance arrived.
Meanwhile, the older Michael Dunphy took his two youngest daughters to the nearby home of one couple, the Adlers. Another local family, the Gallaghers, offered the fire victims blankets and clothing to keep warm.
Philadelphia Fire Department and Bucks County fire companies responded to the blaze. With the entire building consumed by flames, firefighters were forced to keep their distance and spray it from the outside. Portions of the old stone exterior walls collapsed.
Firefighters pulled a second alarm at 5:33 a.m. and finally declared the blaze under control at 6:12 a.m.
Three occupants were taken to local hospitals, including Janet for her burns and smoke inhalation, her husband Michael for smoke inhalation and chest pain, and Dziengelski for his neck burns. Dziengelski was released later that day, while Michael Dunphy stayed overnight.
In the days since the fire, relatives and friends have helped the family to get back on its feet. Many have opened up their homes, while some have given them necessities like clothing and food.
"We’ve had so many offers from people to have us move in with them," Michael Dunphy said.
"My brother-in-law Ricky took the younger girls out shopping to buy school clothes and pajamas. And my sister Sandy took them out and bought them a couple of outfits," Janet Dunphy said.
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Brianna Dunphy recalls fleeing the house on that chilly night without even a pair of shoes to wear.
"We have a big, amazing family. They’re so generous," Angelique Dunphy said.
The house, sadly, was a total loss, the full impact of which the family has only begun to feel.
"The hardest thing for us was the first time going back," said Angelique Dunphy. "Everything was still smoking.
"My mom and I were just saying (before the fire) that our family has been really lucky because nothing serious has ever really happened to us."
The family’s two dogs, both of the Fila Brasileiro or Brazilian Mastiff breed, also survived the fire in their outdoor pen. But the normally aggressive guard dogs — known for their fierce loyalty to their owners — appeared traumatized by the incident.
"The dogs were so scared," Brianna Dunphy said.
The sight of the bare stone walls and charred rubble piled below evoked their countless joyous memories of the home once featured in a historical book on the Far Northeast.
"Everyone said it was the party house," Janet Dunphy said. "We had parties for every holiday and birthday. In the summertime, we had all the barbecues.
"To me, it was the biggest compliment that everyone who came there would tell me they felt comfortable there."
Besides their many Christmas decorations, each with its own bit of family history to tell, Michael and Janet Dunphy lost all of the priceless keepsakes from their children’s lives.
"The thing that bothers me most is losing their baptism gowns and all of the things they brought home when they were in kindergarten; and tons and tons of pictures," the mother said.
Those things will never be replaced, but the Dunphys look forward to creating many new fond memories in a local community that continues to help them in a time of need.
Last Saturday, friends organized a fund-raiser party at the local Sprinkler Fitters Union hall. On Saturday, Jan. 26, St. Christopher’s is planning another fund-raiser at Traynor Hall featuring live music. For information about that event, call 215-673-5787 during regular school hours.
"We’re never going to be able to repay everybody’s generosity," said Janet Dunphy, who served four years as president of the St. Christopher’s Home and School Association. "Somebody asked me if we were going to rebuild. I said, ‘How could you not rebuild in a community that has helped us so much?’" ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com