A historic building gutted by a fire in Philadelphia is being demolished more than a month after the incident, a report by NBC10 says. The four-alarm fire occurred Feb. 18.
Two cranes were in place to start razing the six-story building, one to remove debris and the other to lower workers using a construction basket. But before demolition can begin, crews must remove part of a side wall and roof from the adjacent building to safely shore it up.
The fire-damaged structure was built in the 19th century and housed residences and businesses that were displaced after the fire. Water and fire also damaged two attached historic buildings.
Demolition was put on hold because of safety issues, the report says, which caused issues with the surrounding businesses and residents. The Little Lion, a restaurant neighboring the business, has been closed since the February fire.
The city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) said in the report that demolition would take at least a week, but no exact timetable was given. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has no cause for the fire and investigators have not entered the structure.
L&I retained outside engineers to see if the building’s brownstone, plaster and cast-iron façade could be salvaged before demolition, the report says. An analysis says the upper floor façade of brownstone and plaster was beyond repair, but the first floor cast iron façade could be salvaged.
A 3D laser scan of the building’s remnants will help architects design a new building for the site, the report says.