Blast Levels Philadelphia Rowhouses, Kills One

Michelle Myers

The Philadelphia Inquirer

(TNS)

Jun. 29—Three rowhouses collapsed early Sunday after a fire and explosion in Nicetown. One person was found dead at the scene.

Two women, located in the initial search and rescue, were hospitalized. One was in critical condition and one was stable, Philadelphia Fire Department Assistant Chief Charles Walker said Sunday morning.

One person was located in the rubble by a search dog, Walker said, and was found to be deceased.

Just before 5 a.m., Philadelphia police and firefighters responded to a report of an explosion on the 1900 block of West Bristol Street. The three homes had crumbled.

The two hospitalized women are aged 82 and 62, Philadelphia Fire Department captain Daniel McCarty said.

One of them is a longtime member of Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson's administrative office staff.

"This has really hit the City Council family hard," said Vincent Thompson, communications director for Johnson. He did not identify the woman but said she is receiving treatment at Temple University Hospital.

Between 100 and 125 people in the neighborhood were evacuated, including at least 25 children, according to Shawn Smalley, deputy chief of staff to Councilmember Cindy Bass, whose district includes the affected neighborhood.

"My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragic early‑morning fire and collapse in Nicetown," Bass said in a statement Sunday. "Our community is holding the injured and displaced in our prayers as emergency crews and the Fire Marshal work tirelessly to uncover what happened."

"We all are expecting answers soon — and while that investigation continues, the city and my office are stepping up to support families who've lost homes and to ensure they get the resources they need to begin rebuilding," Bass said.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker visited the neighborhood Sunday, meeting with residents at the nearby Edward T. Steel School, where Red Cross had set up assistance.

She assured people the city was going "house by house by house," because "we'll never leave anybody out who has been impacted."

Parker praised first responders and utility workers who'd rushed to the scene.

She asked that Philadelphians to "please lift up in prayer those families who have been directly impacted and indirectly impacted."

Wary of imprecise accounts of what happened being circulated, Parker asked people to not believe what they might read on social media about the event, but to follow only official reports from fire and city officials.

She added that the city's One Philly Fund was available to collect donations for those affected by the explosion.

The Nicetown neighborhood in North Philadelphia is an almost even mix of renters and homeowners, with an income of $33,149 for a typical household. About 43% of residents live below the poverty line, census records show.

Echoing Parker's praise for first responders, Philadelphia Fire Department Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson added that officials will be doing a "thorough investigation that may take time."

At least five homes were affected by the explosion, and the cause remains under investigation. Authorities believe it originated in one house, resulting in the collapse of the two houses adjacent to it, and impacting two additional homes.

A collapse zone has been set up in case of other collateral collapses. Fire marshals, the Department of Licenses and Inspections, and Philadelphia Gas Works were at the scene Sunday morning.

The Philadelphia Fire Department planned to begin clearing rubble once PGW and L&I deemed it safe enough to do so, a spokesperson said Sunday afternoon.

'Glass and smoke everywhere'

The smell of burned wood permeated the air on Bristol Street late Sunday morning. Where there had been three homes, a wide lot filled with debris remained.

Charred cabinets sprinkled with ashes could be seen among the smoking pile. Broken wood, bricks, and doors lay strewed, while PGW workers dug nearby looking for a gas leak.

The sounds of sirens and machinery disrupted the usually quiet block. Firefighters took a late-morning break to put cold towels on their heads.

Willie Lovelace, 69, lives in a house adjacent to the three that collapsed. He was talking on the phone with his girlfriend when she asked, "Did you hear that sound?"

He didn't have time to answer. Within seconds, the door came flying in, the windows exploded, and his glasses got knocked off his face, he said.

"It felt like everything got sucked right in, it opened the refrigerator door and all," Lovelace said.

Wearing only an undershirt and light pants, he walked out looking for answers. Without his glasses, he struggled to assess the damage, but saw that his next-door neighbor's house, and the two next to it, were torn apart in the blast.

"It looked like a war zone. I went right back in the house," Lovelace said. He walked to the school where the Red Cross had set up, to get his blood pressure checked. As he came out, his girlfriend was parking her car looking for him.

"I told you I would be OK," he said, caressing her hair as she leaped to embrace him. "I am confused, how can something so big happen in a small block like this?"

His niece, Saleema Lovelace, who owns the home where Willie lives with his brother and sister-in-law, was told on Sunday that it was "a total loss" and the houses would have to be torn down.

Stacy Oglesby lives across from the three homes that collapsed. She was getting ready to go to church when the explosion caused her windows to burst, sending glass all over her bed.

"I thought we were getting bombed," she said.

In fear, she ran to her daughter's room, and the pair tried to get out of the house. Debris from the three homes across the street was blocking her door.

"There was glass and smoke everywhere, all my windows are broken, and we couldn't get out," Oglesby said.

Fire department personnel were able to evacuate them and directed them to the Red Cross shelter around the corner.

Oglesby soon returned, looking for her black cat, Envy. She didn't find her.

"She usually sits by the basement window, but that exploded. I am hoping she was able to get out," Oglesby said.

She's been told she cannot enter her home until emergency services clear it.

As of late morning on Sunday, it was unclear when that would be.

Staff writer Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.