Northeast Philadelphia fire displaces 50 people at 7400 Roosevelt Apartments
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Flames are extinguished after a fire broke out at an apartment complex along Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia Thursday night. Now, 50 people are displaced and looking for a place to stay.
The 7400 Roosevelt Apartments are on the 7400 block of Roosevelt Boulevard near Cottman Avenue. Units were evacuated, and no major injuries have been reported at this time, officials said.
On Friday, some residents tried to go back to collect their belongings but were turned away as the structure was not safe. Tow trucks were on the scene towing away some cars as pieces of the building had been falling.
There's no roof left after it burned and caved in.
"Everything is gone," said Zahid Abdulquaoom, who has lived in the building for two years. "Nothing now."
Abdulquaoom's family escaped the flames, but now, he's not sure where they will live next.
"It's so hard for me. I have three kids," Abdulquaoom said. "It's so hard."
"I'm just happy, thankful to God that I have my life," Kaneesha Moore, whose building had smoke damage, said, "but of course, it's just the not knowing for me that's the most unsettling."
Moore is one of the 50 residents now displaced. She was allowed back inside her building for 10 minutes Friday to get some of her belongings.
"Any medication that I needed, just toiletries," Moore said, "and a couple of outfits just to hold me over."
The Red Cross said 42 people stayed at a shelter Thursday that's been set up inside Samuel Fels High School. Many families are receiving food, clothing and other resources. The shelter will remain open through the weekend and as long as it's needed.
Royyae Weatherbe is thankful her sister lives nearby, but she's worried about her cats who are still missing.
"I don't know if they're OK, I don't know if they got out," Weatherbe said. "They said they did a search but did not confirm anything, but as far as people, I'm glad everyone is OK."
Pennsylvania's fire marshal's office told CBS News Philadelphia part of the apartment building needs to be demolished because it's too dangerous for investigators to get inside to determine what caused the fire. That process will take several days.
Fire required massive response from Philadelphia firefighters
Firefighters arrived after flames broke out around 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
More than 140 firefighters and about 57 vehicles responded to the fire, Philadelphia Fire Department Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson said. When they arrived on the scene, they found flames coming from the fourth floor. Units were evacuated and the fire grew quickly over the next hour.
Chopper 3 was overhead as a massive fire burned in much of the building. Several fire trucks were on the scene, and the roof collapsed. Part of the roof hit some nearby cars, and the flames spread.
"Companies went into service with an interior attack to locate and find the fire while simultaneously looking for any occupants and making sure they were removed safely," Thompson said. "That tactic was changed to a defensive strategy due to the amount of fire involved."
"After 30-45 minutes, the whole roof caught on fire, everything started dropping, everything started falling, smoke, everything," resident Isaac Outland said.
No firefighters were injured, and three civilians were treated, though their injuries were not believed to be serious.