Philadelphia police ID woman killed in arson fire; suspect facing murder charges

A man is being charged with murder in connection with an arson fire that left a woman dead on Friday morning in Philadelphia.

The blaze broke out in a tightly packed neighborhood of rowhomes in the 1800 block of East Russell Street around 4:30 a.m.

When fire crews arrived, they found 66-year-old Evelyn Payne inside one of the properties. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Police say 38-year-old Shadeek McDowell was taken into custody at the scene. He is being charged with murder, arson, and five counts of aggravated assault, and other related offenses.

Large puddles of water could be seen along the street, which indicates a long firefight.

Carlos Rivera is counting his blessings after he and his family made it out of their home as the fire raged on.

"I heard the smoke detector. I got scared, and when I looked it was smoke coming right into my room," he recalled.

Rivera says he jumped up and immediately ran to wake his wife and son so they could rush out of their smoke-filled home.

When he got outside, he says they were met with flames bursting from his neighbors' houses, including Payne's home.

"The lady used to raise her grandkids. It was a bunch of them -- like my son -- they used to play together all the time. It is sad," said Rivera.

In a video obtained by Action News, you can hear someone desperately calling out for their mom to come to the window. The pleas grow louder as flames shoot from homes and consume more and more property.

"It was just an explosion of electricity coming out. It was just too much for anybody to go in and help at all," said Miles Conyers, who lives on the block.

The Philadelphia Fire Department says it believes the fire started at one home on East Russell and spread along the porches. Officials say fire crews were on the scene within two minutes and were able to rescue several others trapped inside.

Rivera says his home is in bad shape but not ruined. He says he's able to cling on to some joy after learning his cat -- who didn't make it out with him -- is alive and well.

But his heart now aches for his longtime neighbor who could not be saved.

Officials say about 80 firefighters, medics, chiefs and support staff were at the scene.

In fact, firefighters spent an hour putting the fire out, which damaged as many as three rowhomes. More than a dozen residents were displaced.

Further details on how the fire started have not been released.

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