2-alarm fire tears through building in Kensington section of Philadelphia
A fire at a garage building in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood is contained, but crews are watching for the risk of a collapse.
The two-alarm fire broke out around 4 a.m. Friday at E Street and Kensington Avenue. Within about three hours, the worst of the flames were gone, but smoke continued billowing into the surrounding neighborhood for several hours.
"Initial companies got on scene and saw heavy fire from the first floor and billowing smoke from the second floor, Daniel McCarty, executive chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department, said.
The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management urged residents in the area to close their windows due to the smoke. Air quality was being monitored, but no warnings were issued.
Henry Cedeno lives across the street from where the fire broke out. He says he couldn't get to work because his car was blocked in by emergency responders. He was worried the fire could spread to his house.
"A whole bunch of firefighters, flames, smoke just hitting the house," Cedeno said. "One thing about if you live in Philadelphia, smoke always gets into your house, especially when you have a fire next door across the street."
Early on, firefighters created what they're calling a "collapse zone," and any people in that zone were told to evacuate.
Over 120 Philadelphia Fire Department members were on the scene. At one point, firefighters could be seen trying to access the building through windows, while others climbed on the roof as they worked from multiple angles.
Around noon, crews were awaiting a wrecking crew to take down a wall of the building so they could enter and continue fighting flames inside.
Fire officials say the building was vacant and there have been no reported injuries. Although the call came in as a garage fire, it's still unclear what the building was being used for. A battalion chief believes it was most recently a church.
The building is adjacent to SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line. A SEPTA spokesperson said there is no impact on L service at this time, but the transit agency is monitoring the situation.
No word on the cause of the fire. The fire marshal is out investigating that.