PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — One person was hurt and residents were displaced after a fire broke out in a Center City apartment building late Tuesday night.
Firefighters and police responded to the Adelphia House at 13th and Chestnut streets around 11:30 p.m. for a fire that started in a second-floor unit, officials said.
Residents said they were used to dealing with false alarms in the building, but they quickly realized this time was serious.
"As soon as I was going down the stairs and I smelled the smoke, it hit me with the realization this was a real situation," Daniel Ramos told NBC10.
"I started smelling smoke in my apartment so then I started texting my neighbor. I'm like, 'Hey, I think this is the real deal.' So then I walked into the hallway and I realized there was a bunch of smoke," resident Luigi Acquati told NBC10.
He then banged on his neighbor Logan Brauer's door and helped her get her cat out from under a bed. Then they rushed out.
"We went for the main stairwell and it was just like a wall of smoke. It was really scary so we went for the back stairwell and thankfully we were able to make it down," Brauer said.
One of the residents had to be taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but she is expected to recover, police and fire officials said. There were no other injuries reported.
While most residents were able to get back in once it became safe, those who live on the second floor could not immediately return.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
