PHILADELPHIA — Two firefighters battling a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse Monday were killed when an adjacent furniture store they were inspecting collapsed, burying them in a pile of debris, authorities said.
It took about two hours to extract the bodies of Lt. Robert Neary, 60, and firefighter Daniel Sweeney, 25, because of all the debris, fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. Two other firefighters were rescued and taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The blaze started around 3:15 a.m. Dozens of nearby homes were evacuated, and the firefighters were trying to make sure that the blaze was out at a furniture store when a wall and roof collapsed, Ayers said.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately determined.
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