Flames roared through a Philadelphia rowhouse early Wednesday morning, leaving at least 13 people dead and two in critical condition, police sources told NBC Philadelphia.
Firefighters arrived at the three-story structure in the 800 block of North 23rd Street in the city’s Fairmount neighborhood at about 6:40 a.m. EST, authorities said.
It took about 50 minutes to control the blaze, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department.
It appeared that most of the damage was contained to one building in the densely populated residential neighborhood.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people resided in the apartments, which real estate records indicate were split into five units and owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
The urban block is just a 15-minute walk from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, home of the famed “Rocky” steps, and a little more than one mile south of Temple University.
Wednesday’s tragedy came 13 years and a week after seven people in southwest Philadelphia died in a late December 2008 blaze.
This is a developing story, please refresh here for updates.