9 displaced by house collapse in Germantown
GERMANTOWN (WPVI) -- Nine people were displaced when a house collapsed in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood just before 1:00 a.m. Thursday morning.
When firefighters arrived to the scene on the 5100 block of Marion Street they found that most of the home had collapsed.
Hours later, firefighters had no sooner had added more caution tape around the home when the rest of the structure came crashing down.
Aaron Brisbon and Lisa Payne say they live in the back of the home. When the walls started crumbling, they made a run for it.
Payne says, "He caught the ceiling, and I was holding it up. And he was like, 'come on, let's get out.'"
Brisbon says this is his family's home. He's lived here for three years. Just Wednesday, a friend had mentioned it looked like it needed repairs.
Payne explains, "He said, 'look at that, look at the outside of your house, it's really buckling.' He said, 'you don't have too long.' And it happened tonight."
Alesha Jones had parked her car next to the home. She's just happy everyone survived.
She says, "My whole back windshield is gone. But I wasn't in there so that's not as bad and no one else is hurt."
Authorities requested crews from PGW, PECO and L&I respond to the scene.
Seven people, including five children from the neighboring home, were also displaced and were helped by the Red Cross.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.
