UPDATED: 1:30 p.m.
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During a press conference at the Philadelphia Fire Department Administration Building Friday morning, Thiel said the scene of the fire at Eighth and Reed streets remains dangerous, and work will be slow.
The explosion completely destroyed three houses, and two others sustained severe structural damage.
The bodies of the two who were unaccounted for have not yet been recovered due to the instability of the buildings. Thiel said they were the only ones reported missing.
“It's a very complex and dynamic situation, and our overriding goal right now is to locate any known or potential casualties from this incident,” said Thiel. “That is going to be our priority.”
It’s not known if anyone else may have been in front of the house when the explosion occurred just before noon on Thursday.
PECO and PGW crews will be in and out of the area, turning gas and electricity on and off at times, as heavy excavation work is underway.
"There is a lot of set-up work that needs to be done before we can actually start using the heavy equipment to start delayering those collapsed buildings and going through that debris," Thiel added.
Officials quickly responded Thursday and dug up the street to turn off gas to neighboring properties. It took several hours to completely shut off the gas — which was done manually — for the entire block.
About 60 residents were displaced Thursday. More than a dozen other homes on the block sustained damage like broken windows.
The commissioner said hundreds of thousands of gallons of water were used to fight the blaze, and the street's structural integrity had been compromised. He said before heavy equipment is utilized, that also has to be addressed.
There’s no word yet on what caused the explosion. The investigation is expected to take a while, as federal, state and local officials canvass the area for firsthand accounts and continue to probe.