[Photo by ldandersen]
INQUIRER: An iron-wrought railing gave way from the ivy-covered brick fire tower about 3 a.m. today as a 25-year-old man who lived in an apartment one floor below and a female friend were leaning on it, authorities said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was taken to Hahnemann Hospital, police said. Directly below the fire tower is a narrow alley and a fence enclosing the back of a spa next door. The man’s identity was being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The woman was not identified because she was in critical condition, police said. The apartments are located above Monk’s Cafe, 264 S. 16th Street. Scott Mulderig, chief of the city’s Emergency Services & Abatement Unit, said all 13 tenants will be moved elsewhere and the bar will be closed until the owner corrects structural problems and code violations. MORE