The last injured firefighter hospitalized following a Kensington warehouse blaze that killed two other firefighters was released from the hospital Tuesday.
Firefighter Pat Nally was back home in the Holmesburg section of the city after spending more than a week at Temple University Hospital.
Before heading home, he asked to stop by the memorial set up at Ladder 10 in honor of his two fallen comrades. He described to NBC10's Claudia Rivero the emotions he felt when he saw the tribute.
"Very tough, it got me all worked up," Nally said. "I miss my brothers, I was happy to go down and see what a great job everybody did with all the flowers and stuff, that made me feel happy."
Nally suffered a back injury and has a broken pelvis. He's a five-year veteran of Ladder 16, and says he can't wait to return to his job.
The five-alarm fire broke out just before 3:30 a.m. on April 9 at an abandoned warehouse at 1817 East York Street in Kensington.
Around 6 a.m. -- after the fire was brought under control -- Nally and other firefighters were investigating an extension of the factory fire at an adjacent furniture store when the rear wall of that building collapsed, according to firefighters.
Five firefighters were trapped. One got out on his own while Nally and Francis Cheney were rescued about 30 minutes later. Cheney was treated and released the same day of the blaze.
Lt. Robert Neary, 60, and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney, 25, were found about two hours after the collapse. Both men died.
RELATED STORIES:
- Fallen Hero Remembered
- "We Lost Some Real Good Heroes Today"
- 3 Homes Destroyed in Factory Fire
- Fatal Property Owners Were Cited by City
- L&I Documents on YML Realty
Also on Tuesday Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams' office announced that a grand jury would investigate the blaze and see if any charges are warranted.
No cause of the blaze has been released at this point.
