Thick black smoke rose from a raging fire at a warehouse-style garage in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood Wednesday morning. The fire forced students from learning at their nearby school.
The fire broke out in a 30-foot-by-100-foot garage at Ruth and East Clearfield streets at 7:20 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2024, Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Derek Bowmer said near the scene.
Firefighters were pouring water onto the large burning building as SkyForce10 approached a short time later.
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Firefighters took an all hands approach to the blaze, @PFDAlerts posted on X. Bowmer said that there were cars inside the burning building and that it may have been serving as an auto body shop.
Flames could be seen jumping from the burning building as firefighters tried to douse the fire as it continued to rage as of 8 a.m. Smoke appeared to be billowing toward the nearby nearby Frances E. Willard School.
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A third alarm was struck around 8:15 a.m. as more than 120 firefighters battled the blaze, the fire department said.
The fire was placed under control just after 9 a.m., Bowmer said. The smoke at that time had changed to a more white and gray color.
Luckily, no one was hurt and it didn't appear anyone was in the building when the fire broke out, Bowmer said.
A family that lives across the street from the warehouse has a surveillance camera that captured photos.
In them you can see people sitting outside the warehouse around a small fire.
The time stamp starts around 6 a.m. and the fire grows as it goes on and then you can see lots of smoke and fire personnel on scene.
The fire department urged drivers to avoid the area of Kensington and East Allegheny avenues as there are many firetrucks and a total of 51 apparatus on the scene. SEPTA also diverted routes 3 and 89 buses that run along that stretch of Kensington Avenue, Bowmer said.
Students from the Willard School had yet to arrive for the day when the fire began, School District of Philadelphia spokesperson Christina Clark said. Staff was relocated to Russell Conwell Middle School as a plan was made for what to do with students.
The fire could also impact several businesses in the area. However, no homes on either side of the warehouse were in danger of catching fire, firefighters said.
People nearby were urged to keep windows closed so the smoke couldn't get in, Bowmer said.
Late in the morning, the destroyed building continued to smoke as DroneForce10 hovered overhead.
Bowmer said the fire department would remain on the scene during the day to put out hot spots as fire marshals try to determine what caused the blaze.
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