Philadelphia

Fire Claims Life in South Philadelphia

A man in his 60s died in a South Philadelphia fire Thursday evening.

Flames broke out around 5:30 p.m. on the second-floor of a home along Federal Street, near 12th Street.

Firefighters quickly got the blaze under control but it was too late for a man they found in a rear bedroom. Medics rushed him to Methodist Hospital but he died at the hospital.

Family members later identified the victim as Joseph DeRosa. He was a regular at the nearby LaCasa Dei Pazzi Social Club even spending time at the club the day before he died, said friends.

No word yet on a cause of the deadly fire, which investigators said appeared to be contained to one room.

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