Philadelphia building collapse: Firefighter killed and five people rescued

‘You can’t predict this. This was just a catastrophic accident that has really hurt our department’

This photo provided by the Philadelphia Fire Dept., emergency personnel respond to the scene of a building that caught fire then collapsed early Saturday, June 18, 2022 in Philadelphia (AP)

A firefighter has been killed and five other people have been rescued after a building collapsed in Philadelphia.

The five people rescued were four other firefighters and a licensing and inspections worker, according to 1st Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy.

They were responding to a fire at a building at 300 W Indiana Street in the Fairhill neighbourhood of the city.

The fire was reported just before 2am on Saturday and had been put out by 3.24am, Mr Murphy said.

The firefighter who was killed was not immediately named but Mr Murphy said they were a 27-year veteran.

Mr Murphy told reporters: “You can’t predict this. This was just a catastrophic accident that has really hurt our department.”

Firefighters at the scene were reportedly hugging and wiping away tears.

The Associated Press contributed to this report