PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Three young people escaped as the outer wall of their row home collapsed early Thursday morning in the Nicetown-Tioga section of North Philadelphia.
The three-story house is on Brunner Street, just off Germantown Avenue. The right side of the house looks like a sliver of it was sliced off, exposing the pink insulation, wood frame and pipes inside.
Jae Smith parks his black truck next to the building every day. He was sitting in his vehicle around 4 a.m. when he heard a commotion from above.
“I hear a couple of bricks fall and I didn’t know what was going on, so I get out of the truck to investigate and a couple more came falling down. I didn’t know what was going on, so I just ran. And then about five seconds later, the entire side of the house came crashing down,” he said.
A 20-year-old and two teens who live in the house got out safely. Their mother was at work at the time.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation, but many have their concerns, especially since an explosion leveled three row homes blocks away on Bristol Street nearly a year ago.
Residents are worried about the integrity of their homes. City Councilmember Cindy Bass wants those concerns addressed.
“We’re gonna have L&I come out and help them,” she said. “Our office is gonna help and we’re gonna pull any resources we can to be of assistance to them.”
3 young people got out of the house safely
3 young people got out of the house safely
