Firefighters battle flames, heavy smoke at 4-story apartment building in West Philly
Firefighters worked hours Saturday morning to extinguish a four-alarm blaze at a vacant West Philadelphia apartment building.
Crews on scene reported that as hot spots were put down, other flare-ups continued to break out, prompting fire officials to call 4-alarms for additional backup.
WEST PHILADELPHIA - A four-alarm fire at an abandoned four-story West Philadelphia apartment building put firefighters to the test as hot spots were doused, new ones leapt from the building.
What we know
Fire crews got the call for a fire burning in a four-story apartment building on the 200 block of South 48th Street early Saturday morning, just after 5 a.m.
Once on site, firefighters quickly escalated the alarm from 2nd to fourth, as smoke and flames just poured from the very large, vacant building.
As two hours passed, as crews were tamping down hot spots, new flare-ups occurred, complicating the efforts in bringing it under control.
They were able to eventually bring it under control, though crews were expected to remain at the scene to continue to douse hot spots.
The building has been vacant for some time, according to neighbors. No injuries were reported.
What we don't know
A cause of the fire is under investigation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Here Are 17 Extremely Toxic Ideas, Habits, And Behaviors That Are Weirdly Glorified In American Culture
As we all know, Americans do A LOT of weird stuff. While some of it might seem harmless, there are many toxic ideas and behaviors that have become popularized and in some cases, even glorified in the US... That's why when Redditor u/imwith2 asked, "What's something we glorify in American culture that's actually extremely toxic?" thousands of both Americans and non-Americans shared the most bizarre things that have been normalized in the US. Without further ado, here are 17 of their most enlightening examples: If you know any toxic behaviors, attitudes, or ideas that have been glorified in American culture, feel free to tell us about them using this anonymous form! 1."Absurd and excessive consumerism that only serves to represent status." —u/renreniii "I saw someone make an angry post online about discount stores carrying Stanley cups, because then anybody could buy one, even 'poor people', and she wouldn't be special anymore. Thankfully, the comment section tore her apart unanimously. If you want a quality tumbler in a color you like to keep cold drinks with you all day, by all means, buy a Stanley. I've probably paid close to what they cost for a good travel mug, too, but it's wild that they're a status symbol. It's a f*cking CUP." —u/ADHDFeeshie Related: 2."The notion that everyone's opinion is equally valid." —u/TheBadnessInMe "People seem to have forgotten the definition of fact vs. opinion. Opinions are subjective: by definition, there is no absolute truth to them. 'I like this movie/song/show' is an opinion. 'Tomatoes taste bad' is an opinion. Therefore, you can't be wrong. 'The Earth is (roughly) a sphere' is a fact. That is an objective truth, and you can be wrong about it." —u/eleven_paws 3."Perfect attendance, at work or school. Please stay home if you're sick." —u/austinelo "When I was in elementary school, I caught measles from another child whose mother was intent on her child having perfect attendance. Apparently, that piece of paper at the end of the year was more important than her child's or the class's health." —u/SkiPhD 4."At least in the South: Big, intimidating, and expensive weddings. It hurts everyone when something is that expensive, including the people traveling. They have to pay for their hotel bookings, dry cleaning, dog sitters, etc. Just make weddings chill." "Recently, I spent at least a thousand dollars to be a part of a relative's wedding (I was a groomsman). In between the hotel, paying for drinks at the rehearsal dinner, buying my own food the morning of, travel, and buying a suit, I was financially hurting by the end of the weekend. The groom is lucky he's family, that's all I'll say." —u/ssssskkkkkrrrrrttttt 5."Instant gratification. Not many people actually wait and save up for things anymore; instead, they buy on credit and ultimately wind up paying far more in the long run." —u/RavenForrest "Also conspicuous consumption: Consuming more stuff by buying (spending) more, eating and drinking more, having more media instantly, on demand is, by our logic, supposed to be fulfilling and rewarding." —u/Logical_Two5639 6."Individualism: We have gotten so individualistic that our communities have almost completely fallen apart. Millions of Americans are hostile to the very idea that they even need to get along with others." "Going your own way is great when it means that you don't let cultural norms shame you out of expressing yourself honestly and living your life the way you choose. It's terrible when it means you can't do the basics needed to ride on a plane, go to the theater, or buy food at a restaurant without the cops being called." —u/BangBangMeatMachine Related: 7."Treating political leaders like gods." —u/Pearl725 "The goal should be voting in someone with good policy, who's also not a horrible person. It shouldn't be about loyalty to any person or party. Things are always swinging around. People have individual opinions separate from a party identity. Voting on a single issue, voting on a single party, or just being loyal to one person in politics is not a good use of the vote." —u/ArcannOfZakuul 8."Being positive at all times." —u/BlueStarFern22 "I'm Greek and I was raised with the mentality that life is going to be hard sometimes. This year, I've had two different American friends tell me they're trying everything to be happy and positive within a week of a break-up, and it wasn't working. My suggestion that they 'be sad for a while, because that's what's going to happen, and that way you can grieve the relationship and actually heal,' was met with complete non-comprehension. The idea of sitting with sadness for a while after an objectively sad event is actually the normal, healthy response, yet it sounded completely nuts to them. I love a lot of stuff about U.S. culture, but have never met a culture so intolerant to any feeling other than happiness." —u/losethemap 9."Gun ownership culture: I was raised as a hunter and was on the rifle team in college; however, gun culture is out of hand, including the glorification of firearms in movies and media." "Many equate owning a firearm to 'being a man,' whether they live in the city or the country. I stopped owning firearms because I realized the cost of actually using one wouldn't be worth it. We need more people who think it is okay not to own a firearm." —u/iambarrelrider Related: 10."Hustle culture: People are more important than money. A person doing an honest day's work should earn enough to have access to a decent life and there should be no need for side hustles, aka second or third jobs." —u/BananasPineapple05 "I recently went to an interview and was performing well when the hiring manager asked the 'What do you do in your personal life' question, then proceeded to label himself as a gym rat who reads three books a week and consumes nothing but podcasts, before I could answer about myself. I mentioned some of my interests that were not congruent with his, and he zeroed in on the podcast thing. He said, 'So what development or business podcasts or content do you consume?' I replied, 'I'm not really into hustle porn. I was when I was younger, but I cut it out cold turkey. Most of what I consume is genuine hobbies and interests, or I just don't consume content.' I got a blank stare in return." —u/CunninLingwist 11."High school and college athletics: It's extremely toxic that 26 percent of high schoolers' parents want their children to become professional athletes one day, and some greater percent of kids push themselves to play three seasons." "I wish people would just play these games for fun in clubs during high school and college." —u/semxlr5 12."Celebrity obsession.'" —u/Addis_Thinker "I never understood this growing up, and I never had any celebrity I was into other than a passing cool vibe. I've since moved overseas, and I found that outside of soccer, the idea of obsessing over any celebrity is seen as weird. In all the cultures in all the countries I've visited, none of them compares to the US. Even in Japan and Korea, with their obsession with bands, celebrity obsession is still widely considered out of the ordinary and is deeply frowned upon." —u/SookHe 13."Competition: A little competition is good, fun, and aids productivity. But we Americans take it way too far." "I've seen two grown men passing each other in a hallway turn farting into a competition, executives commit horrible crimes in the name of competition when it wasn't even necessary for them to 'win,' and projects totally demolished by infighting. I've even been to the scene of accidents where people are bleeding out while two people are in a shouting match over who should be in charge of the crisis. Not to mention how companies defraud thousands of people just to outcompete their rivals. Americans do so many unethical things just to be competitive." —u/jdlech 14."Being prudes about nudity/human bodies." "I'm not talking about sexually explicit situations, but simply general nudity — nude beaches, sunbathing, etc. Even nipples poking out of a shirt cause many Americans to clutch their pearls! I really don't like it when people use anatomically incorrect terms for their genitalia because the anatomically correct ones are 'too vulgar.' We have bodies. Stop glorifying the shame of those bodies." —u/flugualbinder Related: 15."Cars/car-centric life: You have toxic fumes from the engines, toxic debris from the tires and brakes, and toxic fluids leaking everywhere, as well as the vast amount of concrete and pollution that is associated. All of these issues are known to affect the health of humans nearby. When we got rid of lead in gas, the population at large became less violent." "Then there is the lack of general activity. Ten thousand steps is roughly equivalent to two hours of walking. How often do doctors complain about people not being generally active? Compare those two hours of walking to the length of your commute to work and back. We need to have fewer cars, fewer parking spaces, and make everything closer together. That way we could walk more, and not spend as much of our income on transportation." —u/AbueloOdin 16."The obsession with group identity: Democrat, Giants fan, blue collar, college-educated, Christian, etc." "Sure, humans are tribal by nature, but Americans view every little box they can fit into with a kind of nationalism, more so than actually being American. It's as if their group identities are more important than their own personal ones, and even more important than safety at times. This ties into the compulsion to be in the 'winning team' no matter what. Their 'tribe' has to be on top, even if they are at the bottom of their internal social structures." —u/rulingniko 17."'The American dream.'" "It's what every person on the planet wants, besides a couple of outliers who want more, and a few who will settle for less. 'Americanizing' is just a form of 'othering,' by creating the basic assumption that this is something only 'Americans' want, meaning that what other people want must be different somehow. By inviting the notion of such a basic concept, you lay the groundwork for the 'us vs. them" rationale. The idea isn't itself a bad one, but with the wrong sort of push, you can build very bad behavior onto this foundation." —u/tsuruki23 Did any of these examples surprise you? What are some other toxic aspects of American culture that have been glorified? Tell us about it in the comments or answer anonymously using the form below! Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds:
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I'm finally ditching my landline phone, but what are we really giving up?
For years I tried to convince my husband that we should do away with our landline phone, but he wasn't ready. We might need it one day, he'd insist, even though we practically live in a suburban cell tower forest. I didn't push it but our unused phone on the kitchen wall seemed to leave a message that we were holding onto a relic from a bygone era. The future call my husband thought we'd make was redirected after a (completely shocked) neighbor told us she couldn't believe her mom still had a landline. I looked over at my husband with raised eyebrows, and the next day had his blessing to cut the cord. To permanently turn off a phone, though, you actually have to call the phone company — no sneaking out online. And before you go, they try to keep you. The person I spoke with asked if I was sure I didn't need the phone for medical devices. I already felt ancient — when more than 75% of the U.S. population had long said goodbye to their landlines — and he had to dial it up, making me imagine myself unable to get up. No, I said, I didn't need it for medical devices. Then he went more sentimental, pointing out that we had had that number for 31 years. I thought briefly about how the phone had been there for thousands of basic calls, but was also used for more important conversations, such as when my husband called our doctor in the middle of the night to say (true story) 'My doctor is in labor,' and years later when the nursing home reached me before dawn to say my mom was unresponsive and had been rushed to the hospital. It was also the line I had used in remote work, long before that was a thing, interviewing people while sitting at our dining room table. And while talking on my cellphone with the Verizon man, I pictured myself balancing the old phone between my ear and my shoulder while making dinner and the kids were playing at my feet. So yeah, in the time it used to take to speed dial someone, I was nostalgic for that 10-digit number. Truthfully though, we had already broken up even if the phone still hoped we'd pick it up for that anticipated emergency call, or finally to succumb to the persistent police fundraisers. Ending the line confirmed what we had already been doing. If you want to reach anyone at our house you go straight to that person: no middle man. And maybe I was the one who wasn't ready for this change, another loss added to a list of them. We seem to keep cutting out new conversations with ubiquitous self-checkout lines or curated news stories on our social media feeds. Even the basic idea of having to talk with someone you weren't specifically looking for is a lost art — something many of us had to do as kids when our friends' parents or siblings picked up our calls. For me, this was also true more recently when I'd call one of my sisters and might catch a brother-in-law. Now we call directly or just group text, which alas, ends the possibility of chatting with other family members. Not hearing different voices, just the ones we want, strikes me as a significant loss of random connections and a reinforcement of just hearing what we want. It's a casualty the Verizon guy failed to mention even as we made small talk. Carol MacLeod Zimmermann is news editor of the National Catholic Reporter, based in Kansas City. She lives in Germantown, Maryland, and keeps up with coworkers on her cellphone. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Declaring an emergency': United pilot calls out mayday shortly after takeoff
A United Airlines flight was diverted shortly after departing Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday, July 25, when an engine failure caused the pilot to make a mayday call. United Flight 108 had just taken off for its journey to Munich at around 6 p.m. As the Boeing 787 was ascending to 10,000 feet, its pilot told air traffic control, "Engine failure, left engine, United 108 declaring an emergency. Mayday, mayday, mayday," according to an audio recording. Air traffic control asked the pilot if the aircraft could make its "way back into the field" by turning right. "There's nobody between you and the field," the air traffic controller said in the recording. The flight diverted back to Washington Dulles, landing safely at around 8:33 p.m., according to FlightAware. In a statement, a United Airlines spokesperson confirmed a "mechanical issue" caused the aircraft's diversion. "The plane landed safely, was checked by Airports Authority Fire and Rescue personnel then towed to a gate," Crystal Nosal, an airport spokesperson, told USA TODAY. "There was no disruption to other flights." Once the aircraft was at the gate, all 219 passengers and 11 crew members deplaned. No injuries were reported. "The flight was subsequently canceled and we arranged alternate travel arrangements to take customers to their destination as soon as possible," the airline continued. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: United flight diverted after pilot calls out mayday
