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13 Dead Philadelphia, Pa House Fire 1/5/22
- Thread starter Rich M
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RIP. Many were children. Deadliest fire in Philly in a century I think. Thoughts with those who responded.
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Fairmount · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130, USA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130, USA
www.google.com
RIP, such a tragedy. Prayers.
Terrible fire with the loss of so many, including children.
May they Rest in Peace
One Chief with 35 years on the job said it was the worst fire in his entire career.
Here is the audio of this very tragic fire.
Thank you "XPFD3"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pG1M6bJPZ4
Note - Ladder 1 would normally be 1st due but was Disbanded in 2009.
Ladder 1 (formerly located at Engine 13 - 2nd due engine) was placed OOS in 2009 for budget reasons.
Ladder 9 (located at Engine 43 - 4th due engine) was assigned 1st due truck
Units knocked down fire on 2nd floor quickly.
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The building is a Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) property that had been split into two units. Officials say as many as 26 people lived in the building, with eight living in the lower unit and 18 living in the upper unit.
FOX 29's Jeff Cole asked PHA officials if 26 people was an appropriate number to be living in the property, and a spokesperson stated that it was not.
"You talk about the number of people in the house, you know, sometimes it's better for people to be indoors or on the street. You don't know the circumstances of each and every family," Mayor Kenney said of the number of people inside the home. "Maybe there were relatives or people that needed to be sheltered. Obviously, the tragedy happened and we all mourn for it, but we can't make judgment on the number of people living in the house because sometimes people just need to be indoors."
Investigators say the home was equipped with four smoke detectors and none of them were operational. Fire officials say there were smoke detector inspections and installations at the house in 2019 and 2020. Philadelphia Housing Authority officials say they last inspected the property in May of 2021 and that the smoke detectors were all in working order. They added that they replaced some detectors and batteries back in 2020.
www.fox29.com
FOX 29's Jeff Cole asked PHA officials if 26 people was an appropriate number to be living in the property, and a spokesperson stated that it was not.
"You talk about the number of people in the house, you know, sometimes it's better for people to be indoors or on the street. You don't know the circumstances of each and every family," Mayor Kenney said of the number of people inside the home. "Maybe there were relatives or people that needed to be sheltered. Obviously, the tragedy happened and we all mourn for it, but we can't make judgment on the number of people living in the house because sometimes people just need to be indoors."
Investigators say the home was equipped with four smoke detectors and none of them were operational. Fire officials say there were smoke detector inspections and installations at the house in 2019 and 2020. Philadelphia Housing Authority officials say they last inspected the property in May of 2021 and that the smoke detectors were all in working order. They added that they replaced some detectors and batteries back in 2020.
Philadelphia fire: 12 dead, including 8 children, after Fairmount rowhome fire
Authorities say 12 people, including eight children, have died as a result of Wednesday morning's fire in Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood. The property was owned, operated, and inspected by the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
13 dead, including 7 children, in Philadelphia fire at house converted into apartments, officials say
By: CNNPosted: Jan 5, 2022 9:45 AM CST
Updated: Jan 5, 2022 4:30 PM CST
Thirteen people died in Philadelphia Wednesday morning in a fire that broke out in a three-story home that was converted into apartments, according to a law enforcement official.By Taylor Romine, Paul P. Murphy and Jason Hanna, CNN
(CNN) -- Thirteen people -- including seven children -- died Wednesday morning in a fire at a three-story row home in Philadelphia that was converted into two apartments, officials said.
Officials said two other people were injured and sent to hospitals because of the fire at the home, which records show is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, a municipal agency that leases homes to people with limited income.
"This is without a doubt one of the most tragic days in our city's history -- loss of so many people in such a tragic way," Mayor Jim Kenney said at a news conference late Wednesday morning.
"Losing so many kids is just devastating. ... Keep these babies in your prayers," Kenney said.
Firefighters responded to flames around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday at the row house at 869 N. 23rd Street in the city's Fairmount neighborhood.
Live updates: At least 13 dead in fire at Philadelphia row home
Firefighters found "heavy fire" in a kitchen area in front of the second floor, and there was "nothing slowing that fire from moving," Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said.
Thirteen people were killed; two others were taken to hospitals; and eight people got out by themselves, Murphy said.
"It was terrible," Murphy said. "This is probably one of the worst fires I ever been to."
Twenty-six people lived in the three-story building -- eight on the first floor, and 18 on the second and third floors, fire officials said.
The housing authority was not aware 26 people were living in the building, said Dinesh Indala, the agency's senior executive vice president of operations. The agency is checking how many were allowed to live there, he said.
"You don't know the circumstances of each and every family, and maybe there were relatives and family that needed to be sheltered," Kenney told CNN affiliate WPVI-TV. "Obviously, the tragedy happened, and we all mourn for it. But we can't make judgment on the number of people living in the house because sometimes people just need to be indoors."
The cause of the fire will be investigated, Murphy said.
Philadelphia's district attorney said the city "owes it to the victims, the survivors, and to all Philadelphians to conduct a thorough investigation into this travesty, so that we can make sure it never happens again."
"I join Philadelphians in expressing my heartbreak over the tragic loss of life in Fairmount today. The deaths of 13 people, including 7 children, in a house fire are an unfathomable occurrence," District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
Neighbor: 'I just can't wrap myself around it'
Neighbors and others -- some sobbing -- gathered outside the burned row house as firefighters and police worked the scene Wednesday morning, CNN affiliate WPVI reported.
Bill Richards, who said he's lived on the block for 24 years, told WPVI that before he knew of the fire, he heard a woman yell, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" He then heard fire trucks and went outside.
"It's very upsetting," Richards told WPVI. "I just can't wrap myself around it."
Lindsay Hull told WPVI that she saw stretchers when she came up to the site at 7 a.m. A friend of hers lives next door to the row house, she said.
"That's a house that has a lot of kids," Hull told WPVI. "It's sad."
Some smoke detectors did not operate, official says
Murphy initially told reporters that four smoke detectors were in the building, "and none of them operated."
Murphy later indicated that Philadelphia Housing Authority records showed that at least six battery-operated smoke detectors had been installed there from 2019 to 2020.
However, Indala, the housing authority official, said the agency had different information about the detectors.
One of the apartments, the "A unit," had seven smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors at its last inspection, Indala said. He did not specify the year of the inspection, and CNN has requested clarification.
The other apartment, the "B unit," had six functional smoke detectors and three functional carbon monoxide detectors as of its last inspection in May 2021, Indala said.
Two batteries and two smoke detectors were replaced then, Indala said. Smoke detectors also were replaced in the B unit in an inspection in September 2019, according to Indala.
When a reporter asked why smoke detectors would not have worked if they were inspected in May 2021, Indala replied, "I don't know if they were replaced or tampered with. ... We are working with the fire department at this time to do further inspections."
It wasn't immediately clear which floors the A and B units covered.
Faulty smoke detectors are treated as emergencies and are replaced in 24 hours if requested, and the authority does inspections annually, Indala said.
Row home was legally subdivided, city official says
The row home has been legally subdivided into two apartments since the 1950s and has had no violations, according to a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections.
The home has had three minor complaints since 2019, all related to trash maintenance, department spokesperson Karen Guss said.
One complaint was about trash on the exterior of the property in September of 2021 and October 2021. A complaint about trash and poorly maintained interior surfaces was made in 2019, Guss said.
The building, according to records, was estimated to have been built in 1920.
The home is about 2.5 miles northwest of Philadelphia's Center City district.
- Building is 100 years old
- Philadelphia Housing Authority building
- Occupied by 26 people - 18 in upper fire apartment
- 4 and maybe up to 13 smoke detectors in building - inspected a year ago - none were reported to be operational at time of fire
- Philadelphia Housing Authority building
- Occupied by 26 people - 18 in upper fire apartment
- 4 and maybe up to 13 smoke detectors in building - inspected a year ago - none were reported to be operational at time of fire
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2020 info for PFD - dangers of row house fires:
Row house fires: New safety resources for firefighters
Washington — A new poster and fact sheet from NIOSH are designed to help educate firefighters about the unique nature of row house fires and how to stay safe when fighting these blazes.
www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com
Ladder 1, previously the first due ladder company and housed with Engine 13 the second due engine company, was placed OOS for budgetary reasons in 2009 (I think). A total of seven companies, Engines 1, 6, 8, 14, 39 and Ladders 1 and 11 went OOS at that time. All but Engine 6, Ladder 1 and Ladder 11 have been placed back in service. Some stories attribute the lack of funds to restore the final three companies to pandemic related revenue reductions.
By all accounts, excellent work done by PFD. A very difficult response and terrible experience. Prayers for all PFD members. God bless the PFD.
Also, a terrible loss of life. Prayers for those lost, those injured, and for families and friends of the fire victims.
Also, a terrible loss of life. Prayers for those lost, those injured, and for families and friends of the fire victims.