Elderly Man Dies In Fire In Point Breeze
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — An elderly man was killed in a South Philadelphia house fire overnight.
His death marks a grim milestone in the city.
In front of his house on Taylor Street near Moore Street, there's a pile of charred debris, including a wheel chair.
Officials say firefighters tried to rescue a man who was trapped on the second floor after a fire broke out around two this morning.
Neighbors describe the victim as a World War II vet in his 90s.
Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel says his death now means more people have died in fires in the city this year compared to last year.
"We had 12 fire deaths in all of 2015. We met that for year to date 2016 already and it looks like this will be one additional."
He says residents need to have working smoke alarms and fire officials will be back on the block today to give them out to residents who do not have them.
Officials are investigating to see if there were alarms in the house and how the fire started.