Funeral plans announced for Philadelphia firefighter killed in collapse

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia Fire Department announced the viewing and funeral details for the firefighter killed in the line of duty over the weekend.

Lt. Sean Williamson, 51, died after a fire-damaged building collapsed in the Fairhill neighborhood on Saturday.

The blaze broke out around 2 a.m. at a three-story restaurant and residential building on West Indiana Avenue. The fire had been put out, but then the building collapsed at 3:24 a.m.

Williamson was a 27-year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department and was most recently assigned to Ladder 18 in the city's Hunting Park neighborhood.

The first viewing will be held on Sunday evening, followed by a funeral on Monday morning:

Viewing

Sunday, June 26 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Epiphany of Our Lord Church

1121 Jackson St., Philadelphia

• Due to expected parking congestion in the neighborhood surrounding the church, mourners are encouraged to park in Lot T at Citizens Bank Park.

• From there, uniformed fire personnel can ride for free on SEPTA's Broad Street Line from NRG Station (Pattison Avenue) to Snyder Avenue, then walk a few blocks to the church.

• The PFD will also provide shuttle bus service from Lot T to Broad & Jackson streets. From there, mourners can walk three blocks to the church.

Walking Procession

Monday, June 27 at 8:30 a.m.

• Dignitaries will accompany the casket from the staging area at 10th and Snyder to the church.

• The procession will travel west on Snyder and turn left (south) on 11th Street and end at the church.

• Estimated arrival at church: 8:40 a.m.

Viewing & Funeral Mass

Monday, June 27

Viewing from 9 to 11 a.m.

Mass begins at 11 a.m.

Epiphany of Our Lord Church

1121 Jackson St., Philadelphia

• Due to expected parking congestion in the neighborhood surrounding the church, mourners are encouraged to park in Lot T at Citizens Bank Park.

• From there, uniformed fire personnel can ride free on SEPTA's Broad Street Line from NRG Station (Pattison Avenue) to Snyder Avenue, then walk a few blocks to the church.

• The PFD will also provide shuttle bus service from Lot T to Broad & Jackson streets. From there, mourners can walk three blocks to the church.

• We are working to provide pool video and a livestream of the service. Details TBA.

• There will be a designated space for media outside the church in front of 2133 S. 11th St. Media can park on the 1000 block of Jackson St.

• Following the Mass, mourners are encouraged to attend the committal rites outside Stolfo Funeral Home, 2536 S. Broad St. (See details below.)

Vehicle Procession

• After Mass, a funeral motorcade will depart from the church, traveling via I-95, I-676, Roosevelt Boulevard and Wissahickon Avenue to Engine 59/Ladder 18/Medic 4, 2201 W. Hunting Park Ave. Expect rolling street closures.

• From Engine 59, a funeral procession of vehicles and apparatus will travel east on Hunting Park and turn right (south) on Broad until it reaches Stolfo Funeral Home, 2536 S. Broad St. Expect rolling street closures.

• Estimated time of departure from E59: 1:35 p.m.

• Estimated time of arrival at Stolfo: 2:20 p.m.

Commital Rites

Monday, June 27 approximately 2:30 p.m.

Stolfo Funeral Home

2536 S. Broad St., Philadelphia

Because there will not be a graveside service, committal rites will take place outside Stolfo Funeral Home.

• Once the procession arrives at Stolfo Funeral Home, there will be a rifle salute and bell ringing ceremony outside on Broad Street.

• Interment will be private.

Meanwhile, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered that the commonwealth flag be flown at half-staff in Williamson's honor at all Pennsylvania facilities, public buildings and grounds in Philadelphia until sunset on Friday, July 24, as well as on the day of Williamson's funeral.

"All Pennsylvanians are invited to participate in this tribute," the governor's office said.

CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION

Five other people were injured in the collapse.

Williamson was pronounced dead at the scene after he and another firefighter were freed from the rubble hours after the collapse. Three other firefighters and an inspector with the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections had been freed quickly.

One firefighter has died after being trapped in a building that caught fire in Philadelphia and then collapsed Saturday morning, fire officials said.

One firefighter jumped from the second story to avoid being caught in the collapse, Murphy said. Two firefighters were hospitalized at Temple University Hospital while the other three victims were treated and released, officials said.

The names of the injured members during the emergency response are:

• Lieutenant Sylvester Burton, Fire Marshal

• Lieutenant Clarence Johnson

• Firefighter Dennis Daly

• Firefighter Robert Brennan, Jr.

• Thomas Rybakowski, Supervisor, Emergency Services Unit, L&I

The fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire with assistance from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said an engineering investigation into the collapse is also ongoing and the federal National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health is also expected to do an investigation.

He said those investigations, and the department's own after-action report, are expected to take one to two years.

Thiel told reporters Saturday evening that rescuers "were able to communicate with" Williamson and another firefighter for most of the several hours they remained trapped, but because of the degree of the collapse and where Williamson was located within the structure "we were not able to save him."

The former Marine was "highly respected throughout our department" and had trained "countless" cadets, Thiel said. Williamson is to have a "full honors" fire department funeral "and given the outpouring of support that I've seen and we've seen as a department, you can expect this to be a pretty large event."

"We're absolutely grieving, we're mourning," Thiel said. "We have a lot more crying and a lot more processing to do this unfolds as we move forward with properly honoring Lt. Williamson," he said. Murphy had told reporters at a briefing at about 8 a.m. Saturday that: "It's going to be a rough few weeks coming up."

NEW VIDEO CAPTURES COLLAPSE

Video obtained by Action News shows the moments before and after the building collapsed.

First, you can see a firefighter walk up the back fire escape -- officials say it is at this point the fire was placed under control

But then the building begins to come down, so crews run. And then video shows the cloud of smoke as the building crumbles.

Once the dust begins to settle, you can see firefighters come in with flashlights to begin searching for those trapped.

New video captures deadly building collapse in Philadelphia. Bob Brooks reports for Action News on June 20, 2022.

MANY QUESTIONS REMAIN

Many questions remain about the history of violations at the building.

Officials say during a June 2021 reinspection of the property, they found the property unoccupied with the restaurant closed. So no further action was taken.

But Action News has learned that the property had a few unusual circumstances: the operator that was cited in 2019 closed down, and the property may have been sold more than once after the June reinspection.

There were no reported issues on the upper residential floors.

Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections is continuing its investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.