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A Philadelphia firefighter died in a building that caught fire and collapsed

Published June 18, 2022 at 5:49 AM EDT

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. The Philadelphia Fire Department said “several” firefighters and a city inspector became trapped when a building collapsed during a fire response early Saturday, with more than one person still under the rubble hours later. (Philadelphia Fire Dept. via AP)

PHILADELPHIA — One firefighter has died after being trapped in a building that caught fire in Philadelphia and then collapsed early Saturday, fire officials said.

The fallen firefighter was not immediately identified, but Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said he was a 27-year department veteran.

The building had caught fire just before 2 a.m. Saturday, Murphy said. The fire had been put out, but then the building collapsed at 3:24 a.m.

Four other firefighters and an inspector with the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections had been rescued from the rubble. Murphy said they were in stable condition at hospitals.

Numerous firefighters were at the scene as the rescue effort unfolded, and some were seen hugging or wiping tears from their eyes, multiple news outlets reported.

"You can't predict this," Murphy told reporters at a news conference. "This was just a catastrophic accident that has really hurt our department."