Pennsylvania

President of Pa. Christian Organization and Wife Die in House Fire

Henry Fordham, III was the president of the Allegheny East Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists.

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What to Know

  • The fire started around 12:30 a.m. Sunday at a home on 118 Orchard View Drive in Amity Township. 
  • Responding firefighters found the bodies of a man and woman inside a bedroom on the second floor of the home.
  • Loved ones identified the victims as Henry J. Fordham, III and his wife Sharon Fordham. Henry Fordham, III was the president of the Allegheny East Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. 

Loved ones are mourning the president of a Pennsylvania Christian organization and his wife after the couple died in a house fire in Berks County, Pennsylvania, overnight. 

The fire started around 12:30 a.m. Sunday at a home on 118 Orchard View Drive in Amity Township. 

Responding firefighters found the bodies of a man and woman inside a bedroom on the second floor of the home. Another man who attempted to rescue the couple was also injured after he escaped out of a second-floor window. That man is being treated at Reading Hospital. 

Loved ones identified the victims as Henry J. Fordham, III and his wife Sharon Fordham. Henry Fordham, III was the president of the Allegheny East Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. 

Officials said almost the entire home collapsed during the fire and both floors and the roof collapsed into the basement. They also said they anticipate the entire structure will be demolished. 

They continue to investigate the cause of the fire.

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