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| Photo Credit: AP. |
No fewer than 5 persons were Saturday injured while one person was confirmed dead after a building which caught fire eventually collapsed in Philadelphia. Two of the five persons injured were in critical condition while the only casualty was the firefighter battling the inferno as they became trapped in the building, authorities reportedly said.
The fire
started before 2 a.m. Saturday in the building in north Philadelphia, according
to The Associated Press. Eight persons in the building were safely evacuated
and the fire was reportedly declared under control. In a twist of events, the
building gave way and collapsed at about 3:24 a.m., Deputy Fire Commissioner
Craig Murphy said, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated
Press reported that Lt. Sean Williamson, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene
after he and another firefighter were freed from the rubble hours after the
collapse. Three other firefighters and an inspector with the city’s Department
of Licenses and Inspections were freed quickly.
A
firefighter reportedly jumped from the second story to avoid being caught up in
the collapse, Murphy said, according to The Associated Press. Two firefighters
were said to be in critical but stable condition at Temple University Hospital while
the other three victims were treated and released, officials said, according to
The Associated Press.
Fire
Commissioner Adam Thiel who later spoke with reporters Saturday evening said
that rescuers “were able to communicate with” Williamson and another
firefighter for most of the several hours they remained trapped, but because of
the degree of the collapse and where Williamson was located within the structure
“we were not able to save him,” according to The Associated Press.
The cause of
the fire as well as the building was not immediately known but the fire marshal’s
office said it is investigating the cause of the fire with assistance from the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Thiel also said that an
engineering investigation into the cause of the collapse is also ongoing and
that the Federal National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health would
also do an investigation.