Philadelphia Firefighters Find Woman in Basement after Floor Collapsed

March 18, 2025

A neighbor called 9-1-1 after noticing noticed part of the roof on her neighbor's Mount Airy home had collapsed.

Nate File

The Philadelphia Inquirer

(TNS)

Mar. 17—After the roof of a Mount Airy home collapsed, an older woman was found dead inside on Monday afternoon, according to Philadelphia Fire Department officials.

A neighbor noticed that the roof had partially collapsed in the back of the home on the 7100 block of Mount Airy Place and called for a wellness check around 12:15 p.m, according to fire department spokesperson Rachel Cunningham. It is unclear when the roof collapsed or what caused it.

Firefighters and the Philadelphia Police Department responded to the scene. Fire Department Assistant Chief Charles Walker told Fox29 that part of the home's first floor caved into the basement, and that firefighters found the woman's body after working through fallen debris to enter the home.

The woman's cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner's Office, Cunningham said.

Officials from the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections also visited the scene. L&I issued a permit for a roof covering replacement at the house in May 2023.