A veteran firefighter has died after being trapped in a building that caught fire in Philadelphia and then collapsed early Saturday, fire officials said. Four others and a city building inspector were also hurt.
Lt. Sean Williamson, 51, was killed in the two-alarm response that is now being investigated by city, state and federal authorities. Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said he was a 27-year department veteran. Williamson was most recently assigned to Ladder 18 located in the Hunting Park section of the city, and leaves behind his mother and son, according to city officials.
“The Philadelphia Fire Department is grieving with the family, friends, and community for all those affected by this tragedy,” said Fire Commissioner Adam K. Thiel in a statement. “It is not possible to express in words what we feel at this time.”
The building caught fire just before 2 a.m. Saturday, Murphy said. The fire had been put out, but then the building collapsed at 3:24 a.m. Eight people in the building at the time the fire started were safely evacuated, officials said.
In addition to Williamson, four other firefighters and an inspector with the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections were also trapped at the time of the collapse. One firefighter jumped from the second story of the rubble, Murphy said.
He said firefighters were “just starting the decompress” Saturday morning after pulling “our brothers out of this place.” Numerous firefighters were standing nearby as the rescue effort unfolded, and some were seen hugging or wiping tears from their eyes, multiple news outlets reported.
“You can’t predict this,” Murphy told reporters at a news conference. “This was just a catastrophic accident that (has) really hurt our department.”
Investigators were looking into what caused the collapse. Murphy said the building, which included a pizza shop and residential units above it, had been affected by the fire, but it was unclear what caused it to come down.
Authorities said firefighters and an L&I inspector, were initially trapped and quickly rescued.
Thomas Rybakowski, supervisor of Emergency Services Unit at L&I, was treated and released, as were firefighters Lt. Clarence Johnson and Lt. Sylvester Burton. Firefighters Robert Brennan, Jr., who was trapped in the rubble until about 7 a.m., and Dennis Bailey are in critical but stable condition at Temple Hospital, authorities said Saturday afternoon.
Williamson, was found in the collapse at 6:45 a.m, authorities said.
Mayor Jim Kenney said in a Twitter post that he was “grieving with the members of the Philadelphia fire department and all Philadelphia who lost one of our own in the line of duty today.”
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of Philadelphia Firefighter Lt. Sean Williamson. This is a heartbreaking day for our city … Early this morning, like every day, he exemplified heroism by doing what our first responders do every day: put on their uniform, leave their loved ones, and carry out their sworn duty to protect and serve the residents of this city. I share my deepest condolences with everyone who knew and loved Sean. I ask all Philadelphians to keep his family, and all members of the Philadelphia Fire Department, in your prayers at this difficult time,” said Kenney.
“I also want to express my sincere gratitude and commend all of our first responders who responded swiftly and bravely to save lives. To the five City employees that were injured, please know that we have resources and support to help you during this difficult time, and we wish you a speedy recovery.”
The Philadelphia Fire Department’s Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire with assistance from the ATF, as is routine procedure. No cause has been determined.
Theil, in a news conference Saturday night, said it was the first line of duty death since Fire Lt. Matthew LeTourneau in 2018. He lost his life fighting a fire in a North Philadelphia row home that also collapsed. He said the department has also lost firefighters in recent years from COVID-19.
He said Williamson will be laid to rest with full honors and those services are pending.
Williamson, who served as a U.S. Marine, was a highly respected member of the department and in his 27-year career had trained countless firefighter cadets, Thiel said. He had also served as a member of the heavy rescue unit.
“It is another tragic event in another tragic year,” Theil said. In January, city firefighters battled one of the deadliest fires in Philadelphia history when a Fairmount housing unit blaze left 12 dead, including several children.
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Philadelphia has one of the busiest fire department’s in the nation, responding to on average seven to eight working fires every 24 hours, Theil said. The age and various conditions of the building it the city make it particularly dangerous, he said.
“Building collapse is something we have become accustomed to here,” he said, noting the department has specialized units to respond and work collapse scenes. Some of those crews worked the Surfside condominium building collapse in Miami that left 98 dead last year.
“This building collapsed in several different ways, so we had several different collapses on that site … One area was easier to access,” Theil said, pointing out that Williamson was not too far from another firefighter was was able to be rescued.
“These buildings really collapse often without warning and its very complex especially in these old buildings that have been renovated multiple times, particularly after a fire,” he said.
Investigators were inside the North Philadelphia building Saturday morning investigating its structure when in fell.
“Unfortunately, this collapse happened very quickly and in a way that made it difficult for us to rescue everybody,” Theil said. He said Philadelphia crews “don’t give up,” and that they were devastated that they could not save Williamson.
Theil said an after-action report would be done and that it was important to be “open and transparent” after major incidents. He said a similar report was done after the collapse that killed LeTourneau, and changes were made.
Patricia Sermarini told The Philadelphia Inquirer that she rushed to the scene when she saw the alert about the collapse because her son-in-law, a firefighter, was on the morning shift. She said he had been one of the firefighters on scene but had made it out of the building just before it collapsed.
But moments later, Sermarini said, she saw firefighters pull a body out from the rubble.
“It’s so terrible,” she said. “This is so hard for them. They just want to get home to their families.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
