Partial rowhome collapses in North Philly with woman and her son inside
Woman speaks out after home collapses while she, son inside
An 86-year-old woman is speaking out after she and her son were inside their home in North Philadelphia when it partially collapsed Monday morning.
PHILADELPHIA - An elderly woman and her son were not hurt after they were inside a North Philadelphia rowhome when it collapsed on Monday afternoon.
What we know:
Emergency crews were called to the 2100 block of North 9th Street just before 10 a.m. for reports of a house collapse.
Firefighters say one person was injured in the collapse and was driven to Temple University Hospital in stable condition.
SkyFOX flew over a large debris field that spilled into a vacant lot next to the three-story property.
Firetrucks and emergency vehicles that responded to the collapse had left the scene by noon.
What they're saying:
The incident occurred just before while the victim, 86-year-old Elaine Thomas and her son were inside.
Thomas spoke to FOX 29's Jennifer Joyce Monday afternoon and described the terrifying moment.
"Like a boom! I thought it was somebody throwing a bomb at my house…or something," said the 86-year-old woman.
She was about to go upstairs to lie down but decided to investigate the noise outside instead.
As she and her son approached the door, the house collapsed. Miraculously, they were able to walk out the front door without injury.
Thomas has lived in the home since she was 13 years old, and the collapse has buried decades of family memories and belongings in the debris.
She expressed her shock, saying, "I wanted to cry but I could not cry - my house I've been there so many years."
A rowhome partially collapsed Monday morning in North Philadelphia.
A demolition crew was working to remove an alleyway structure attached to Thomas's home to develop the neighboring lot.
The crew realized the foundation was cracked and would not survive the demolition work, which had been cleared by an engineer.
"Once they start tampering with it, this is the result of it," noted Sharifa Jones, Thomas's granddaughter, noted.
What we don't know:
Firefighters say the cause of the collapse is still under investigation.