Philadelphia Apartment Fire: 180 Firefighters Battling Overbrook Blaze, Several Residents Evacuated

UPDATE: 7.30 a.m. EST - Reports suggest that other houses on the block were dealing with a power outage and there was no information about when it would be restored.

“A fire of this magnitude is always a challenge, the cold definitely complicates things. We’re still actually collecting people who evacuated the building, it’s a very large apartment building. Also, unfortunately parts of the building are starting to collapse so we are having to do evacuations at some of the adjacent structures that are around the apartment building," said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel, CBS Local reported.

UPDATE: 6.05 a.m. EST - Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management and American Red Cross have opened a shelter for the evacuees and residents at Commodore John Barry Elementary School. Officials also asked people to avoid the area of 63rd Street near Lebanon Avenue because of the large response to the fire. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) service on Route 10 was also affected by the massive fire.

Original story:

A massive 5-alarm fire broke out in a four-story apartment building in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia on early Monday, resulting in the evacuation of 50 residents.

According to reports, a total of 180 firefighters are battling the fire which started around 2:15 a.m. EST on the 900 block of North 63rd Street.

Fire officials also evacuated neighboring buildings as the apartment complex could collapse. The officials haven’t been able to enter the building because of the severity of the fire, however, are trying to battle the fire from outside.

6ABC reported two firefighters have sustained minor burns. The cause of the fire remains unknown. There is no confirmation if all the residents were evacuated.

This is a developing story.