One firefighter died and three others were injured after the collapse of the former Weaver Organ and Piano building Thursday afternoon, according to the York County Coroner’s Office and Fred DeSantis, president of the York Professional Firefighters Association.
Two of those transported to York Hospital are talking and will be OK, while the third is in serious condition, he said. The deceased firefighter has not been named.
DeSantis spoke from the hospital, where firefighters and family are gathering.
He said firefighters were in the midst of an investigation when the 150-year-old York building collapsed, trapping them. All four are from the city fire department.
Rescue crews were called to the scene of Wednesday’s fire at the former factory for several individuals trapped inside.
On Thursday morning, firefighters had been attempting to root out any hot spots, and officials had planned to comb through the wreckage in hopes of determining what caused the fire.
The report of trapped people later in the day was called out as a “mass casualty” incident and “mayday” over the 911 radio system. The Advanced Technical Rescue team was dispatched, according to the county 911 log.
Parts of the building that had been standing earlier Thursday had collapsed. Some already had fallen the previous day during the fire.
At the scene, police officers at the corner of Wallace and North Broad Street told a woman who lives nearby that she could not cross the yellow tape because “it’s a crime scene.”