Philadelphia

Fire That Damaged Homes Under Construction in Philadelphia Could Have Been Worse: Commissioner

A townhouse and a row of brand new homes were damaged due to a fire early Monday. NBC10 Pamela Osborne was on the scene. Some new homes at 21st and Wharton streets were saved and no one was injured. 

Flames destroyed or damaged several row homes that were under construction in Philadelphia's Point Breeze section overnight.

Firefighters found several homes engulfed in flames when they arrived at the corner or 21st and Wharton streets around 4:30 a.m. Monday.

One of the structures collapsed.

NBC10’s Pamela Osborne is live in Point Breeze where several homes under construction on Wharton Street went up in flames Monday morning.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Admam Thiel praised the about 75 firefighters on the scene for getting the blaze under control in about an hour, minimizing the damage.

"Anywhere else in the country this would’ve gone to five alarms and the entire block would’ve been involved in fire," Thiel said.

There were no reports of injuries.

Per normal policy, both licenses and inspections and ATF investigators would look into the cause of the blaze. 

The property is owned by developer Ori Feibush's OCF Realty. 

"We're waiting to hear from officials on what seems like the obvious," Feibush told Philly.com.

Copyright The Associated Press
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