Woman dead after row home fire in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A woman died after a house fire in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood on Wednesday morning, despite firefighters rescuing four people from the burning home, officials said.

Fire crews responded shortly after 9 a.m. to the 4400 block of Fleming Street, where arriving firefighters encountered heavy flames and reports of people trapped inside.

“Our first engine and ladder companies witnessed heavy fire coming from the house behind us,” Philadelphia Fire Department Executive Chief Daniel McCarty said. “They heard screaming as they were getting off their trucks. They knew they had to prepare to make rescues and aggressively attacked this fire.”

Firefighters rescued four people from the home, but one of those victims later died. Several neighbors identified the victim as Janice Fleming, a woman in her 60s.

Scott Bigos, who lives in the adjoining twin home, said he went outside after noticing smoke and found a chaotic scene unfolding.

“They were screaming, and they had dogs inside and there was, like, some of them were trying to go back in; there were cops holding them back. It was a scene,” Bigos said.

According to fire officials, no smoke alarms were heard inside Fleming’s home, where the fire originated.

The blaze also destroyed Bigos’ home, which served as the headquarters for his online comedy sketch show, Cheese Parade. Bigos said he had recently purchased the property.

“First-time homeowner, just bought it in April. So, got a good six months out of it. Hopefully I’m back in there in a year or so,” he said.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.

As the investigation continues, McCarty said officials are focused not only on understanding what happened but also on supporting residents affected by the tragedy.

“Just supporting, but also putting the pieces together about what happened here early morning. A lot of things to recognize here, but the biggest aspect is just supporting this community that’s behind me. They’re just hurting right now,” McCarty said.

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