Senior citizens evacuated in hot weather after electrical fire at Philadelphia apartment complex
Dozens of residents of a senior apartment complex were evacuated on a hot evening as firefighters worked to put out an electrical fire that broke out at the complex on July 29
By Brandon Goldner, Joe Brandt
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Dozens of residents of a senior apartment complex were evacuated on a hot evening as firefighters worked to put out an electrical fire that broke out at the complex Tuesday, officials said.
It’s the second electrical fire at the complex in the last five weeks.
The fire broke out at the Courtyard Apartments at Riverview, on South 4th Street near Washington Avenue in Queen Village, just before 7 p.m. Tuesday. It took firefighters more than five hours to get the blaze under control.
A spokesperson for the American Red Cross said a temporary shelter was established at Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Overnight, 58 residents used the shelter, the spokesperson said. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, residents were still using the shelter and have not yet been allowed back into the building, according to the Red Cross.
Philadelphia Second Alarmers provided rehab services to firefighters as they fought through hot and humid conditions, and SEPTA brought out a cooling bus for residents.
“All my food is trashed, and I’m not reimbursed, not one nickel,” resident Sam Holbrook said. “No excuses given, we tried to reach the corporate office in New Jersey, and they just put a wall up.”
In June, hundreds of firefighters evacuated over 200 residents from the building after an electrical fire. PECO had to shut off power for several hours.
“I got the text this morning, outage undetermined,” Holbrook said. “That is unacceptable, because if it happened twice, it’s going to happen again.”
We’re working to find out how many people were evacuated, if the building is still without electricity, and when things will be back to normal.
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