A man died on the second floor of the rowhome at 1257 S. 46th St. overnight.
A neighbor was killed and two others were injured in a house fire overnight on the 1200 block of S. 46th Street. The fire broke out around midnight and was put out about 20 minutes later. The victim, a man in his 30s, was found on the second floor and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other men who were at the house when the fire started were able to escape.
We spoke to a next-door neighbor this morning who said that the attached row home at 1257 S. 46th is a boarding house that includes five units. The woman said she had some damage in her ceiling where firemen broke through to ensure the fire didn’t spread to adjacent buildings.
Apparently, the house was in pretty bad condition, with portable oil and electric heaters in use and no working smoke alarms, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers told NBC10.
So sad
We heard the sirens and I wondered what was going on. Praying for all involved.
How does a 1200 SqFt row home have 5 units?
Can L&I start policing these guys…
Unfortunately our mental health system (if it is a group home for MH/SA), is motivated more by getting people off the streets than ensuring that the places are safe where they are housed. It would be interesting to see who the property owner is and whether this is part of an agency that provides housing or someone exploiting the people and the system.
According to public records, the house is owned by two individuals sharing the same last name, presumably husband and wife, purchased for $1 in 1994 and is zoned single-family. Taxes have not been paid since 1999 when the property went into mortgage foreclosure but may still be in control of the family as a third person with the same last name recently used the address for election poll work records.
The property was on L&I’s radar for a porch roof violation in March 2012 and went to court in August 2012 for non-compliance. In November 2012, the owners were finally sued for almost $11,000 in real estate tax liens and the property was ordered to sheriff sale in December 2012. The affidavit of service to the property owners was filed on January 31, 2013 by posting of the notice on the premises.
It is a shame then that someone had to lose their life in order to bring attention to this. I think serious charges are in order against the owners.
So…since 1999 the property avoided paying taxes and it took the city 13…13…13 years to begin the foreclosure process.
Sure makes me feel warm and fuzzy about AVI!!!
Let my taxes(which tripled) pay for more pension service of civil servants.
Fact: 30% of Philly’s budget pays for pension costs, and an additional 25% pays for city employee benefits.
http://www.phila.gov/pdfs/Mayors_Operating_Budget_In_Brief_FY2013.pdf
Poor guys and neighbors get hurt due to greed, corruption and paresseux. This death is on the City!!!
Stewie, our councilwoman in particular kept an iron grip on sheriff sales in our area making the 46th Ward having some of the lowest number of properties going to tax lien sales despite there being a strong market for them. No paresseux, only greed and corruption.
It would be interesting to know if our councilwoman has any behind the scene mandates that have caused her to keep a tight hold on this process. Probably the best thing to do at this point is to contact her office and see what they have to say about it.
I’m sure her office will deny it if asked but it’s plainly long been the unofficial policy. Probably considers it some kind of messed up constituent service in her mind but really it’s about power and control of the area.