Smoky fire forces residents from Center City high-rise apartment building

Smoke could be seen coming from a burning Center City high-rise apartment in Philadelphia overnight as residents streamed out onto the sidewalk below.

The fire -- which appeared to have started in a second-floor unit -- forced residents of the Adelphia House at 13th and Chestnut streets outside after it broke out around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2024.

One woman was hospitalized with smoke inhalation, firefighters said.

All other residents and pets made it out of the smoky blaze, authorities said.

Residents told NBC10 that it isn't uncommon for the smoke alarms in the building to go off and that they took pause at first.

"I started smelling smoke in my apartment, so then I started texting my neighbor, 'hey, I think this is the real deal,'" resident Luigi Aquati said. Once in the hallway, "I realized there was smoke in the hallway so I started pounding on my neighbor's door."

The smoke forced some evacuees to go down different staircases.

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"We went for the main stairwell, and it was just like a wall of smoke, it was really scary," Logan Brauer said while standing outside. "So, we went for the back stairwell and thankfully we were able to make it down."

Residents on all floors -- except the second level -- were eventually allowed back into their apartments early Wednesday.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Wednesday morning.

"Designed by prominent American architect Horace Trumbauer, the Adelphia House is a renovated Philadelphia landmark offering a grand two-story lobby with detailed tile floors and beautiful plaster work," a website for the pet-friendly apartment building says.