A firefighter dead and 5 rescued after Philadelphia building collapses

Authorities said a building in a Philadelphia neighborhood collapsed early Saturday during a fire, trapping "many" firemen and a city inspector. One fireman was killed, and five others were rescued from the building in Philadelphia's Fairhill neighborhood, according to fire officials.

The firefighter, a 27-year veteran of the department, died after the three-story building fell at 3:24 a.m. EDT, according to Philadelphia Fire Department 1st Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy. Murphy told reporters that four other firefighters and a Licensing and Inspections Department inspector were also trapped. They were sent to a local hospital. The inspector was freed, but the firefighters remained in stable condition in the hospital.

“It’s gonna be a rough few weeks coming up,” Murphy told reporters. “You can’t predict this. This was just a catastrophic accident that has really hurt our department.”

Officials from the Fire Department fought to save six persons who were trapped in the burned ruins of the structure, with four of them being rescued so far.

"Several people have been rescued and taken to hospitals so far." "Work to release others continues," the fire department tweeted. It said an "L&I inspector" was among those caught up in the collapse, implying that the Department of Licenses and Inspections was involved.

It was unclear how many individuals were still trapped, as well as their condition and that of the injured. A pile of rubble and bricks is surrounded by scores of firefighters and other emergency responders, according to photos shared on Twitter.

An official fire department Twitter account for automatic notifications had sent a tweet about four hours earlier, just after 2:05 a.m., alerting residents to avoid a fire at an address in the Fairhill district of northern Philadelphia.