Leonia man identified as victim in fatal Philly fire escape collapse

PHILADELPHIA — The 22-year-old man who died after a fire escape collapsed at a historic Center City building on Sunday morning was identified by authorities Monday as Leonia resident Albert Suh.

According to the Associated Press, Suh and two women, ages 25 and 26, were smoking cigarettes on the fire escape of the 108-year-old John C. Bell apartment building when the iron landing collapsed, sending the trio 35 feet to the ground.

Suh, of the 100 block of Leonia Avenue, was pronounced dead after sustaining head and neck injuries, according to police. The other two women were listed in stable condition with serious back injuries.

The three were attending a party at the historic property, which was built in 1906 and is on the city’s historical registry.

The building, once home to Pennsylvania attorney general John C. Bell, has not been inspected in over 50 years, according to a report on NBC 10. The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) issued five violations after a post-accident inspection, finding the conditions of the fire escape deteriorated and “imminently dangerous,” according to the agency’s website.

Suh graduated from Penn State in June with a degree in economics, according to his LinkedIn page. His LinkedIn page lists him as an employee of JP Morgan Chase.

A family friend told The Record that Suh moved to Leonia a few years ago with his parents and two brothers after having lived in Port Washington, NY.

Attempts to reach the family Monday night were not successful.

By James Kleimann | NJ.com 
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on January 13, 2014 at 9:11 PM, updated January 14, 2014 at 7:16 AM