What to Know
- A woman died as flames tore through a 14th floor unit at The Philadelphian late Monday night.
- Firefighters from Ladder 1 -- reopened just hours earlier -- were among the first to respond.
- Residents smelled the smoke and evacuated the high-rise.
A woman died as flames tore through a high-rise in Philadelphia's Spring Garden neighborhood overnight.
Ladder 1 -- reinstated just hours earlier when President Joe Biden visited Monday to announce that federal money would help reopen it -- was among the first to respond to the fire at The Philadelphian along Pennsylvania Avenue just after 11 p.m., firefighters said.
When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from a 14th floor unit, Assistant Fire Chief Charles Walker said. Firefighters rushed into the burning condo to extinguish the flames and pull a woman from inside.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
The woman -- believed to be in her 40s -- later died at the hospital, Walker and Philadelphia police said.
The Philadelphian -- with more than 750 units -- is one of the largest residential buildings in the city, Walker said. Walker said that responding firefighters ran into issues with the elevators, but were still able to "make an aggressive attack."
"Ladder 1 being restored today and then having this type of call today -- and being first in -- shows the great importance of all the companies," Walker said.
Hundreds of residents rushed into the lobby and out into the cold night.
"They told us smoke was coming down and it was very heavy smoke and that they were still fighting it," HughE Dillon, who is the president on The Philadelphian, said. "So then I helped my neighbors get down the stairs."
Dillon -- a well known photographer in the Philadelphia social scene -- shared details about the impact of the fire, which he claimed was contained to B wing of the three-winged building.
He showed video of water coming down in the stairwell as firefighters walked up toward the 14th floor.
Residents in seven units wouldn't be able to immediately re-enter their apartments due to damage, firefighters said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
