By rssfeeds-admin Around 12:15 p.m. fire officials said that a resident on Mount Airy Place called the city to perform a wellness check on their neighbor after noticing the back of her roof caved into her home.
Firefighters were called to the home, but before entering, crews had to use beams to stabilize the structure. Officials said the first floor had caved into the basement and they had to dig through debris to find the woman’s body.
“There’s no way of telling where she was or when the collapse actually took place,” said Assistant Chief Charles Walker with the Philadelphia Fire Department. “We just found her in that debris that was created by the collapse itself.”
Neighbors watched firefighters go around to the back of the home. One neighbor said he reported the structural conditions to the home about a year and a half ago.
“I saw her roof,” Willams said. “I squirrel going inside her roof. I saw snow and water going in, so I just called 311 to report her roof was in disrepair.”
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, agents with the Department of Licenses and Inspections visited the woman’s home in May 2023 to issue a permit for a roof covering replacement. However, firefighters could not comment on the condition of the home prior to entry.
“There was debris on top of debris from the collapse of the structure so it would be unfair to say what the conditions were prior to us going inside,” Walker said.
The woman had not been publicly identified, though neighbors said they were saddened by her passing.
“I lost a neighbor in that way,” said James Williams, a neighbor to the deceased elderly woman. “It’s unfortunate for anybody to die like that.”
The woman’s cause of death has yet to be determined, as is the cause of the building’s collapse. The investigation is ongoing.
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