1 dead in West Philadelphia fire
WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- One person has died as a result of a fire in West Philadelphia.
It happened shortly after 3:30 a.m. Monday on the 800 block of North Holly Street.
Arriving fire crews were met with heavy smoke on the first and second floors of a row house.
One person was found inside the home on the first floor.
Neighbors tell Action News the victim was a woman in her 60s who lived in the home by herself.
"It kind of got me to me this morning," said Gerald Manley. "I thought about it and I'm like, 'This can't be real.'"
Manley was close to the victim, and also to her son, who passed away several years ago.
"I'm thinking, 'Okay, maybe she isn't in there.' I don't know if she was in there. But they came out," said Manley. "I was out here for a long time. But there's nothing you can do with a fire. I wish I could've done something."
There are no residents living on either side or directly in front of the home.
Officials say that gave the fire a significant head start before residents took notice.
It was simply far too late to save the woman who lived there, despite the fact that there is a fire hydrant directly in front of the home and that crews arrived less than three minutes after the first was reported.
This blaze came less than a month after the home next door went up in flames two days before Christmas.
This latest incident marks the second fatal fire in Philadelphia this year, and the third death.
Over the weekend, a fire lieutenant was trapped and killed trying to save a resident in a row home.
Fire investigators are still working to determine what sparked this latest blaze.
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