Philly Building Collapse: 1 Firefighter Dead, 5 Others Rescued.
One firefighter died, and five others had to be pulled from the rubble when a building collapsed in Philadelphia Saturday morning.
Rescue efforts lasted hours until Philadelphia Fire Department 1st Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy confirmed to the press shortly before 8 a.m. that the firefighter, a 27-year department veteran, died in the collapse on the 300 block of Indiana Avenue in the Fairhill neighborhood.
Murphy said that four other firefighters and a Licensing and Inspections Department inspector had also been trapped. The five were transported to Temple University Hospital.
Murphy said the inspector was released, and the other four firefighters were in stable condition at the hospital.
“It’s gonna be a rough few weeks,” he said.
The building caught fire around 1:53 a.m., Murphy said. He said the fire was out, but the building collapsed at 3:24 a.m.
Philly Building Collapse
NBC10’s Skyforce 10 helicopter showed dozens of firefighters digging through the rubble and standing on the perimeter of the collapse as they searched for their colleagues.
Some firefighters could be seen hugging as they anxiously watched the rescue unfolding.
Six first responders — five firefighters and an inspector from the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections — had initially been trapped in the collapse at 3:24 a.m.
It followed what Murphy said was a “pretty routine” box fire shortly before 2 a.m. and the collapse occurred well after firefighters had the blaze under control.
The five who escaped made it from the collapse at different times.
One jumped from the second story of the building, Murphy said. All were rushed to a hospital and are now in stable condition.
The fire marshal is launching an extensive investigation, Murphy said, but no foul play is suspected at this time.
“You can’t predict this,” Murphy said. “This was just a catastrophic accident that has really hurt our department.”
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