Four additional firefighters and an inspector were saved by the rescuers.
According to the Philadelphia Fire Department, several firefighters from the city were killed early on Saturday morning when a building that they were responding to collapsed while they were inside.
After being extracted from the rubble, each victim was sent to the emergency room at Temple University Hospital. The five patients were said to be doing well and were reported to be in stable condition by a member of the staff.
At 1:53 in the morning, firefighters were dispatched to what was described as a “normal” incident. Before the fire was brought under control, a call for “all hands on deck” was broadcast.
Six members of the emergency services were stranded inside the building after three and a half hours of “total collapse.” The structure had been damaged and was occupied by people who had been forced out of their homes.
