Around 100 firefighters are currently battling the blaze and are expected to remain at the scene throughout the night, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel confirmed to multiple outlets Tuesday.
“This is an active firefight,” Thiel is reported as saying. “We will be here the entire night dealing with this active firefight.”
“We’re worried about collapses [because] there are parts of the building that have already collapsed into it - we have parts of the building collapsed out onto the street, so we’re sort of in a standoff mode,” Thiel added.
There are no reported deaths as a result of the incident. One unidentified person was transported to the hospital, CBS Philly reported.
Fire marshals are currently investigating the cause of the blaze, which erupted just before 3 p.m. local time. According to local news outlet WPVI, several workers were on the roof when the fire was first reported.
The Philadelphia branch of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is presently on scene.