At least 4 row homes collapse in South Philly blaze; two presumed dead

South Philly fire
Photo credit Philadelphia Fire Department/Twitter

UPDATED: 8:05 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities said two people are presumed dead following a row home explosion near Eighth and Reed streets that brought out more than 120 firefighters to the scene. Firefighters will return Friday morning as part of a recovery effort. 

The three-alarm fire on the 1400 block of South Eighth Street broke out just before noon and was declared under control just before 3 p.m.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said firefighters responded Thursday morning to an explosion and building fire.

Four homes have been destroyed, and officials say two people have been found in the rubble of one of the row homes that collapsed.

Officials went door to door collecting information from neighbors as they searched for information on the occupancy status of the fully collapsed building.

Fire Commissoner says one person has been found trapped under debris. He says they are “most likely deceased” one or two people may be trapped in neighboring homes.

— John McDevitt (@JM1060) December 19, 2019

The fire department called in heavy equipment to peel off the layers, and Thiel said it's still a very dangerous scene. 

Plumes of white smoke poured from at least four houses. Firefighters were aiming several streams of water on the buildings. They also pulled a hose line up to the roof of a neighboring property to direct water on the fire from above.

“I heard an explosion. I actually thought it was a truck that crashed into the side of the building because the whole building shook, similar to an earthquake,” he said. “And I smelled gas.”

He looked down the street and saw the second floor of a house “totally collapsed.” He ran to the scene with a fire extinguisher, not realizing the scope of the fire.

Loretta D'Olio, who lives two blocks away from the scene, also felt the blast.

“I came right to the door and saw the smoke down the block, but my house shook because I was watching TV and all of a sudden I felt the ground shook,” she said.

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KYW Newsradio's Rachel Kurland, Mark Abrams, Justin Udo and John McDevitt contributed to this report.