UPDATE: This article has been updated, officials have provided new information on how many homes were damaged in this incident.
Officials said five families were left with nothing after a fire damaged rowhomes in Folcroft, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The fire broke out during the afternoon of Nov. 17, 2024, at one home on the 1100 block of Taylor Street., officials said.
Officials said not every home on the block caught on fire, but the flames burned through the main power pole causing PECO to shut off electricity in the area out of an abundance of caution.
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Folcroft Fire Department Chief Angelo Zangare said the fire started at one of the homes in the middle of the block and then spread to the others.
“Nobody was hurt. They were all out. Nobody was in their homes at the time,” Chief Zangare said about when fire crews arrived at the scene.
A neighbor told NBC10 that people were home but ran out when the fire started. Neighbors also said that they heard at least four propane tanks explode.
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Zangare said it’s too early to know how much damage the fire did the five homes involved, but he believed that four were destroyed.
“It’s devastating. You’ve got the holidays coming up and all these people were displaced,” he said. “They have nothing to go back to.”
The families are either staying with family or friends or the Red Cross, which is on scene helping out. They will put them up in a hotel for temporary housing for the time being.
At this time the cause of the fire is unknown.
The Borough of Folcroft has been collecting donations for the families displaced by the fire.
Those who wish to donate can drop them off at Boro Hall starting on Monday, Nov. 18.
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