Philadelphia firefighter killed: Eyewitnesses describe horrifying moments as building collapses
FAIRHILL - Neighbors in Fairhill are recounting the horrific moments leading up to the deadly building collapse after an early morning fire.
"I was walking in the house with the homeowner because I deal with the insurance company and, literally, as soon as I stepped in this mess, the building started collapsing," Emergency Services Representative Kareem Hampton said.
A worst case scenario playing out in the early morning hours at the corner of 3rd and Indiana Saturday.
"It’s a sad day for the Philadelphia Fire Department. Unfortunately, our department lost a member fighting bravely a fire and then being caught in a building collapse after the fire was over," Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy stated.
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Eyewitnesses at the scene describe the scene as calm one moment and pure mayhem the next.
"The Fire Marshall had just walked in there. It happened so fast, it was like so sudden that literally two more seconds I could have been inside that building and I could have been the one trapped," Hampton remarked.
Officials with the fire department say there are dark days ahead for their brothers and sisters.
"People are just starting to decompress because we just finished up pulling our brothers out of this place and it’s going to be a rough few weeks coming up," Deputy Commissioner Murphy said.
A community action team lieutenant had to jump out of the building to save his own life, hurting himself in the process.
"He jumped over the railing. Now mind you, he’s 60 to 70 years-old, he has fragile bones. He jumped over the railing right before the whole building came down," Hampton added.