3 days ago
Firefighters battle flames, heavy smoke at 4-story apartment building in West Philly
The Brief
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.
