Firefighters battled a fire that broke out at an abandoned rowhouse in West Philadelphia where dozens of one-gallon jugs of gasoline were found Monday night in what officials called "very dangerous" and "very bizarre."
More than 150 gallons of gas were stashed in plastic gallon containers on the first floor of an abandoned, partially burned-out rowhome on the 100 block of North 59th Street, police said Monday night.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, a fire broke out. It was unclear what caused the flames to begin. Firefighters had the fire under control shortly before noon, but a family of seven were forced to evacuate because of the blaze. Two other adjacent rowhomes were also being investigated for fire damage.
Neighbors said the man whose mother owns the house was standing outside the home Monday night drinking a beer. The mother, neighbors say, is in a nursing home. The man was questioned by police last night after the gasoline was found in the home, according to officials. It is not known where the man is as of Tuesday afternoon.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Firefighters said that all of the gas jugs had been removed overnight.
The man detectives questioned Monday night used to live in the house before it first caught fire in March of this year, police said. It has been vacant since then. Three houses in total were damaged by the new fire.
Investigators found the jugs after police received a 911 call for a strong smell of gasoline coming from inside the residence around 8 p.m.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
SkyForce10 was overhead as hazmat crews responded to the scene shortly after.
“A very volatile, dangerous situation for 154 gallons [of gasoline], all in separate one-gallon milk containers, inside of a property, in a residential neighborhood – what a fire hazard that is,” Small said.
Small said the man was in the area at the time of the discovery Monday night, and he's known to frequent the property.
Officials said the Philadelphia police and fire departments as well as the ATF will conduct a joint investigation to see why the more-than 154 jugs of gasoline were in the home, how they were acquired, and how the fire happened Tuesday.
“Is it stolen? Was it possibly going to be used for arson?" Small said about the gasoline. "We’re not certain at this time."
Detectives were also looking into the possibility the gas may have been for sale.
No injuries were reported Monday night or Tuesday morning, officials said.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
