PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thirteen people are confirmed dead in a fire that broke out Wednesday in an multi-family home in Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood. Among the dead are seven children.
Philadelphia police say it started just after 6:30 a.m. inside a three-story row home at 23rd and Brown streets that had been converted into apartments. That's about a block from Eastern State Penitentiary.
Preliminary information from the Philadelphia Fire Department indicates that companies arrived at 6:40 a.m. and found heavy fire coming from the second floor of the building. It took 50 minutes to get the fire under control.
The cause of the fire is unknown, and it is unclear if the 13 died from the fire itself or from smoke inhalation. The surrounding streets are blocked off as investigators go in and out of the house.
The multi-family building is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, according to city property records. The cause of the fire is unknown, and it is unclear if the 13 died from the fire itself or from smoke inhalation. The surrounding streets are blocked off as investigators go in and out of the house.
Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy choked up at a late-morning press briefing as he confirmed that seven children were among at least 13 dead. He said the death count may change as the recovery effort continues.
"I don't have the words for for how we're feeling right now as a community and as a department," Murphy said.
There were 26 residents in the multi-family building, which is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, according to city property records. Eight people lived in a first-floor unit, and 18 people lived in a second unit that occupied the second and third floors. Eight people were able to escape from the burning building, Murphy said.
He said there were four smoke detectors in the building, and none of them were working.
"I've been around for 30, 35 years now, and this is probably one of the worst fires I've ever been to," Murphy said.
Witnesses to unspeakable tragedy
The odor of smoke and charred ruins is perceptible from at least a block or two away. The mood at the scene is somber, as neighbors gather, standing around in shock, looking up, and taking in the enormity of the loss of human life.
"I'd say about 6:30, I just started hearing the screams," said a neighbor, who says he witnessed the whole thing. "I thought maybe it was just, you know, living in Philly, you have people all hours of the night morning screaming, sometimes it happens. But it kept going. And so I guess the whole block must have woken up."
He said he and a number of neighbors watched helplessly as flames shot from the building. He said he didn't see anyone trying to escape.
"We came downstairs and, sure enough, there were flames immediately just pouring out of the second floor," he said.
He said he didn't know any of the victims of the fire, but he acknowledged the tragedy that is touching the whole neighborhood.
"Living here for a couple of years, I've seen people constantly coming and going -- pretty, fairly busy corner over there. So it's just sad to think that, you know, some of those people might have perished and just want to think about the victims and their families and friends at this time."
Wayne Brooks, a neighbor and former firefighter, says he first realized there was something wrong when he saw the rescue squad in front of the PHA building. Then he started to see injured people around the neighborhood, then the fire engines, then the helicopters.
"As a firefighter, I kind of knew there had to be something really bad that had happened, because they were on the scene too long. From 6 a.m. to about 9 a.m.," he said.
"Thirteen people. That was really shocking to me. ... This has got to be one of the biggest fatalities of Philadelphia ... in a single fire in the last five years."
Brooks said a situation like this is difficult for any firefighter to overcome.
"I see a lot of guys, they take it personal, because they see their own. It's like it's their own child that has passed and it's really hard," he said.
Stay with KYW Newsradio for more on this developing story.