Man carries mother down 10 flights to escape Philadelphia senior facility fire

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A fire at a Philadelphia senior living facility forced residents to evacuate in the middle of the night.

Firefighters responded to the Brith Sholom House on the 3900 block of Conshohocken Avenue in Wynnefield Heights around 1:40 a.m. Saturday.

Officials said a fire broke out on the fourth floor and smoke spread to the upper floors.

Resident Shawn Smith, who is his mother's caregiver, told Action News they didn't smell smoke at first.

"And then the hallways on the 10th floor started filling up with smoke. So I grabbed my mother and I threw her over my shoulder and I had to carry her down 10 flights of steps," Smith said.

Smith, who was wearing a Philadelphia Eagles Zach Ertz jersey and no shoes, said he acted as quickly as he could.

"It was a scary situation, but I got my mother out. That was all I was concerned about," Smith said.

It took crews 20 minutes to get the fire under control.

One person was treated at the scene.

A cause is under investigation.