A building collapsed in Philadelphia early Saturday, killing a firefighter who was trapped in the rubble.
Firefighters had responded to the blaze at a three-story building at about 2 a.m. Long after the fire was declared under control and a family that lived upstairs of the first-floor business had escaped, the building collapsed, trapping five firefighters and an inspector from the city Department of Licenses and Inspections, Philadelphia Fire Department First Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Until the collapse, Murphy said the fire was “routine.”
One firefighter died in the collapse.
“Our department lost a member bravely fighting a fire and then caught in a building collapse after the fire was over,” Murphy said, according to CNN.
The @PhillyFireDept has confirmed that one firefighter was killed in the line of duty this morning with several others injured during a building collapse.
Our hearts go out to the families affected and to the Philadelphia Fire Department.@IAFF22https://t.co/0IuBH6Rm1d
— Edward A. Kelly IAFF General President (@IAFFPresident) June 18, 2022
“We just finished up pulling … our brothers out of this place. It’s going to be a rough few weeks coming up,” Murphy said shortly after 8 a.m.
Should an inspection have warned that this building could collapse?
Officials said the firefighter who died had been with the department for 27 years, according to WPVI-TV.
The inspector was released from the hospital, while the four rescued firefighters were hospitalized in stable condition, Murphy said, according to WCAU-TV.
“You can’t predict this. This was just a catastrophic accident that really hurt our department,” Murphy said.
Philadelphia Fire confirms one of their firefighters passed away as a result of this morning’s building collapse on Indiana Avenue. The latest on @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/CyBzm5RaFe
— Brandon Goldner (@GoldnerTV) June 18, 2022
Murphy said those who escaped from the wreckage did so at different times.
One person who was in the building at the time it collapsed jumped to safety from the second floor.
The trapped first responders communicated with rescuers by tapping, according to Fox News.
LISTEN: “It was a catastrophic collapse.” @PhillyFireDept Deputy Commissioner Craig Murphy sadly confirms the news of the loss of a Philadelphia firefighter in the line of duty overnight. After fire put out, building collapsed with several inside @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/PdzixhYLZM
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) June 18, 2022
Patricia Sermarini had rushed to the scene for fear that her son-in-law, a firefighter on duty, was among those trapped, but he was not.
She said the incident scarred all of those present.
”It’s so terrible,” she said, according to the Inquirer. “This is so hard for them. They just want to get home to their families.”
