Firetruck crashes into Philly building, leaving 5 injured

PHILADELPHIA — Four firefighters and one civilian were injured Thursday when a Philadelphia Fire Department firetruck crashed into a building after a collision with another vehicle.

The firetruck had left a nearby fire station and had its lights and siren on as firefighters headed to a report of a house fire a little after 4 p.m. in North Philadelphia, according to an emailed police incident report. The truck collided with a car and was propelled into the building at 7th Street and Girard Avenue, police said.

#BREAKING: A fire truck has crashed into a building in North Philadelphia. At least one person was injured. SkyForce10 is live overhead. https://t.co/bJ2PejqH7u

— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) May 27, 2021

WPVI-TV in Philadelphia reported four firefighters who were on the truck and a woman who had been in another car involved in the collision were treated for injuries, according to Assistant Fire Chief Charles Walker. Walker also said two of the firefighters had to be pulled from the truck, and none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

Details of what caused the crash were not immediately available. At least two other damaged vehicles were in the roadway near the scene.

Video from several television news stations showed the back of the truck sticking out of the front of the building and a hole on the side of the building where the front of the truck could be seen. The fire department’s building collapse unit was on scene, though the video showed the heavily damaged four-story building still standing.