Fairmount property where a fire killed 12 has been forgotten by the city, neighbors say

It was the children’s toys that got Eric Stone to act.

He lives behind the home where 12 people, including nine children, were killed in an early-morning fire in January 2022, one of the nation’s deadliest in decades.

It had been more than two years since the screams and flames drew the residents to the street, and one of his windows perfectly framed the home’s patio, where a stroller and several children’s bicycles and tricycles remained propped over a fence. Toys, golf clubs, and remnants of the fire peppered the rest of the space.

It was a grim memorial to the children who were once “the energy of the block,” Stone said. The children who were the type to offer to shovel neighbors’ sidewalks after a snow dusting and were often outside tossing a football, engaging with passersby. Stone remembers teaching some of them to skateboard.

Stone remembers how the deaths drew countless elected officials to the block in the days after the tragedy. The absence of those officials in the years since only adds to the sting and the feeling that the home has been left to rot.

According to the Philadelphia Housing Authority, which owns the property, there are legal reasons the home appears trapped in time.

What residents in Fairmount describe as an information void taps into one of the biggest frustrations Philadelphians have after a tragedy, such as a fire, an explosion, or a building collapse, occurs. Residents, who are often unfamiliar with the city’s various agencies, describe difficulty navigating the bureaucracy when seeking support. Communication between the city and residents only becomes harder once the cameras leave, they say, though the city often points to the assortment of programs it offers to help with cleanup and financial assistance.

Stone thought that due to the high-profile nature of the fire, the city would move quickly to rebuild or leave the space as a pocket-park memorial of sorts. But neither happened and no news seemed to flow from the city in the years that followed.

» READ MORE: Fatal Fairmount fire was a once-in-a-generation tragedy. Here’s how it unfolded.

Stone filed a 311 complaint regarding the backyard in April 2024, and that eventually led to a city cleanup of the space, but the home has only grown to be more of a concern since. Air conditioners were left precariously in place. A second-story window remained broken and unsealed, leaving residents to worry about wildlife nesting in the property. Then there were the drainage issues. The pooling water after storms spurs fly infestations that spread to the rest of the block, Stone said.

“The city was quick to respond then, but has shown a real lack of respect to people living there as well as the neighborhood itself,” he said. “[The home] was completely forgotten about.“

Stone tried reaching out to his councilperson, Jeffery Young Jr., and the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections. He filed multiple 311 complaints. His reports were “added to an ongoing investigation,” but there was little else he could glean about the property’s future.

Max Ireland, Stone’s neighbor and an almost five-year resident of the block, could also see into the back of the three-story building. The worst part of the ordeal, he said, is the “emotional reminder” of what happened that fateful morning three years ago.

“I don’t really know … what’s available as far as options are concerned for the city, but it would be nice to have that space reclaimed, whether it’s for the neighborhood or repurposed,” Ireland said.

Still, the safety of what remains of the rowhouse itself became another grave concern. Some issues flagged during inspection, such as roof deficiencies and problems with exterior flooring, have been addressed. A July city inspection, however, marked lingering issues with the exterior walls and deemed the property an “unsafe structure,” the meaning of which remained unclear to Stone.

L&I did not respond to questions about the structural integrity of the building.

PHA spokesperson Nichole Tillman said that the agency aims to be a good neighbor, keeping the block safe and clean, but that ongoing litigation prevented repairs to the interior or exterior from moving forward.

“The litigation also blocked contractors from entering the building and providing proposals to rehab the property,” Tillman said in an email. “PHA was legally required to secure the building since the fire to preserve the contents of the units.”

But the needle is moving on things.

PHA petitioned Common Pleas Court for control of the property and was approved in June. The agency is now in the process of garnering regulatory approvals, funding, and permitting to rehab the building, Tillman said.

Councilmember Young told The Inquirer on Thursday he did not know what PHA’s plans were for the property, but his office could ask for a timeline of repairs and redevelopment.

» READ MORE: Three sisters, nine children: Remembering those lost in the Fairmount fire

Also on Thursday, L&I visited the home and boarded up the broken window on the second floor. PHA pinned the bare window frame on people who have tried to vandalize the property, saying the city has regularly re-boarded the building.

Now that PHA has access to the property again, Tillman said, it is prioritizing issues with the drainage pipe.

Stone just hopes it doesn’t take another three years to fix.