Woman dies in Spring Garden high-rise fire; newly reinstated ladder company first on scene

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A woman has died in a fire that erupted at a high-rise condo building in Philadelphia's Spring Garden section Monday night. Several other residents have also been displaced.

Authorities say the fire broke out at the Philadelphian Condominiums on Pennsylvania Avenue near 24th Street, located near the parkway and art museum.

The blaze marks the second consecutive morning where a fire has turned fatal in Philadelphia.

Fire officials say smoke alarms began sounding around 11 p.m., however, residents say it's not infrequent that smoke alarms go off so not everyone heeded the warning at first but soon realized there was in fact a fire.

"I smelled heavy smoke and so I garnered my belongings, and I knocked on the doors to awaken my neighbors, and I went to the fire tower and it was completely full of water so I knew it was a serious fire," said Hugh E Dillon.

Arriving firefighters were met with smoke on the 14th floor and called in additional resources.

The fire was located in a 14th-floor unit, where firefighters found a woman in her 40s. She was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.

Fire officials say this building is one of the largest in the city with 776 units. Arriving crews were also met with challenges, including problems with the elevators.

The fire was mainly contained to one unit, with smoke and water damage potentially impacting around a half dozen others.

Ladder One, which was newly restored Monday after many years, was the first ladder company to arrive at the scene.

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"Ladder One being restored today, and then having this type of call today and being first in shows the grave importance of all of these companies," said Assistant Chief Charles Walker, with the Philadelphia Fire Department. "We look forward to opening up the additional companies that were put out of service years ago for budgetary reasons and it just benefits the citizens of the city."

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The identity of the victim has not yet been released.