Philadelphia ( CNN ) -- Two Philadelphia firefighters died early Monday and three others were injured after a wall collapsed in a building that had been cited repeatedly for safety violations and was set to be sold at auction later this year , officials said . The collapse occurred about 5:50 a.m. as the five were inside a furniture store , said Deputy Fire Commissioner Ernest Hargett Jr. Four of the firefighters were trapped inside , he said , but the fifth was able to get free . Firefighters were forced to move brick and timber by hand and cut through some materials to rescue the others , Hargett said . The initial report of the blaze came in at 3:13 a.m. , Hargett said . Responding firefighters issued four additional alarms as the flames burned out of control for two hours and embers set surrounding buildings ablaze . The furniture store was one of the surrounding buildings , he said , and the five were `` investigating an extension of fire '' inside when the collapse occurred . In a press conference later Monday , Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison said city officials received complaints last November about the conditions in the main property involved in the blaze . Inspectors visited the building six days later , found problems and cited the property 's owner . When they went back in December and found nothing had been done , they issued another citation -- with an identical scenario of inaction followed by a citation playing out 30 days later . The city pushed to bring the owners to court after the third citation , Gillison said , with a court date likely due sometime in May . Meanwhile , the building 's owner had failed to pay $ 60,000 in taxes and another $ 12,000 in water fees , the deputy mayor said . After citations , fines and a court order , the building was being scheduled for a `` sheriff 's sale '' -- a public auction for back taxes -- likely in June or July , said Gillison . `` We were not going to drop the ball on this one , and we did not , '' he said , saying that city officials were responsive all along to residents ' complaints about the property . At Mayor Michael Nutter 's urging , the city plans to contact District Attorney Seth Williams to determine if the owner 's failure to maintain the building was `` risking a catastrophe and whether this amounts to criminal negligence , '' according to Gillison . Richard Negrin , the city 's managing director , said investigators will determine if the fire was caused by arson or negligence . He stressed the duty of building owners , in this case and others , to abide by city code to ensure their properties are safe and secure . `` It is first and foremost the responsibility of the building owner to be in compliance with the code , '' Negrin said . The firefighters who died in Monday 's blaze were 60-year-old Robert Neary and 25-year-old Daniel Sweeney , the firefighter 's union and Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said . `` We have a veteran firefighter and we have a new firefighter , '' Ayers told reporters . The IAFF Local 22 union identified two firefighters `` seriously injured '' in the incident as Patrick Nally , who is in critical but stable condition , and Francis Chaney , who is in stable condition . `` Right now , we 're asking for prayers for the families , '' Ayers said . `` We 're asking for everybody to be supportive . We 're asking that you respect the firefighters , their families , their lives . '' The last time multiple Philadelphia firefighters died in the line of duty was 2004 , Ayers said , and the last firefighter death was in 2006 . `` This is absolutely a tragedy , '' the commissioner said . `` No one wants to lose anyone . ''
NEW : The building failed inspections and its owner did n't pay taxes , a city official says . NEW : The city was after the owner in court , and the property was up for public auction . NEW : The firefighters who died were Robert Neary , 60 , and Daniel Sweeney , 25 . TL;DR A fire at an apartment complex on Staten Island