Scores of people within a two-block radius were temporarily evacuated.
The three houses next to Diaz collapsed, he said. So did the front of his house, the ceiling between the first and second floors, and the roof.
"It's not liveable anymore. If you so much as touch it, I think it'll fall," said Diaz, who plans to live in the nearby house of his son, Pablo Jr., until he can find another house.
Thomas Perez, a relief worker who rushed to the scene about 3:45 a.m., reported seeing flames about 100 feet high.
"The heat from the flames was intense. It was melting awnings and plastic siding on nearby houses," Perez said.
Although fire department officials said they had an adequate water supply to fight the fire, residents and relief services personnel reported a water main break in the area about 11:30 a.m., along with power and gas outages in the neighborhood. Michael Wood, a PECO spokesman, said that 460 customers lost power and that power was restored to about 260 of them by the afternoon.
Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said the blaze drew 175 members and more than 50 pieces of fire equipment. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion but returned to work, while another suffered injuries and was in stable condition in Temple University Hospital, he said. One resident was injured and was also in stable condition in Temple University Hospital, Ayers added.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, Ayers said, because an unstable 125-foot tower connected to the building must be removed before an inspection can be conducted.
One person was rescued from the second floor of the warehouse when firefighters arrived but left before he could be questioned, Ayers said.
City Managing Director Loree Jones said the building was co-owned by Ayres-Phila Inc. and the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development.
