Funeral services announced for Philly firefighter who died on duty

Funeral arrangements have been announced for a 27-year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department who died on duty this past weekend.

Lt. Sean Williamson, 51, lost his life while responding to a call in Philadelphia’s Fairhill neighborhood on Saturday. Firefighters evacuated occupants of a pizzeria at 300 W. Indiana Ave. in the early hours of Saturday morning, but the building then collapsed on Lt. Williamson and injured four other firefighters and an inspector for the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

Williamson was “highly respected throughout the department,” said Fire Commissioner Adam K. Thiel in a briefing Saturday.

Viewings will be held Sundayfrom 6 to 9 p.m. and Monday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Epiphany of Our Lord Church at 1121 Jackson St. in South Philadelphia. The church will also host the funeral Mass on Monday at 11 a.m.

After the Mass, the Fire Department will carry out a funeral procession beginning at Williamson’s fire house, Engine 59/Ladder 18/Medic 4, 2201 W. Hunting Park Ave. in the Nicetown-Tioga section. This procession of vehicles and apparatus will travel east on Hunting Park and turn south on Broad until it reaches Stolfo Funeral Home, at Broad and Porter Streets in South Philadelphia.

The interment will be private.

Williamson is survived by his mother and his son.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office.