Overview

• Three attached rowhomes on the 1900 block of West Bristol Street collapsed after an explosion and fire around 4:50 a.m.
• Emergency responders located one fatality and rescued two elderly women who were hospitalized with critical and stable injuries.
• A collapse zone has been established as search-and-rescue teams and K9 units sift through debris for additional victims.
• At least ten surrounding homes have been evacuated and a Red Cross reception center opened at Edward T. Steel School for displaced residents.
• Fire marshals, the Department of Licenses and Inspections, Philadelphia Gas Works and ATF agents are conducting structural inspections as they investigate the blast’s origin.