Woman Rescued From Debris After North Philadelphia Home Collapses
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A North Philadelphia woman was rescued from her collapsed home Friday afternoon. Now investigators are working to figure out what led up to it.
There is still a big mess at the scene. Bricks and other debris have spilled all over on the sidewalk here on the 3100 block of Stillman Street in North Philadelphia.
Rescue crews say the woman who was inside the home is lucky to be alive. She was standing in the right place when the home collapsed because she was near a wall that allowed for crews to dig out the debris and pull her out. She was taken to Temple Hospital in stable condition.
Two men who were inside were also able to dig themselves out.
"Upon arrival, two occupants of the dwelling self-extricated and informed companies that there was one occupant trapped. Special operations companies rescued one, Squad 72, along with Battalion 8, went into service, found the occupant who was trapped, extricated this occupant," Philadelphia Fire Department Deputy Chief Carl Randolph said.
Neighbors thought they were feeling an earthquake when the home collapsed.
"We just heard like a freight train coming, a lot of wind, an earthquake and then we just see a lot of dust and some sort of boom," Dwayne Fetherson said.
Good Samaritans tried rescuing two men and a woman stuck in the rubble.
"We ran in to try and help her but the structure next door didn't seem like it was stable," Fetherson said.
There is also worry the wall of the next-door home could come down.
The Department of Licenses and Inspections is on scene.