Flames shot into the air as firefighters battled a warehouse fire in Southwest Philadelphia Thursday morning causing SEPTA to suspend service on a nearby line and sending smoke toward at least one nearby school.
The flames broke out around 9:40 a.m. at Island and Paschall avenues.
No injuries reported in the three-alarm fire. It took firefighters about three hours to get the blaze under control.
Amtrak and SEPTA suspended service along its Newark Regional Rail Line, which uses tracks adjacent to the fire scene, but was able to restore service before noon.
Smoke from the fire caused some people at Colwyn Elementary School, about half a mile away in neighboring Delaware County, to smell smoke, officials with the William Penn School District said. Firefighters checked the school and gave the all clear. One student who suffers from asthma was sent home.
Then, around 1:30 p.m., the winds shifted causing Colwyn Elementary to be evacuated. Students were taken by bus to Walnut Street Elementary where parents could pick them up, the district said.
