Building and Contents All Completely Lost
A 5-ALARM SCHOOL FIRE IN PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Sunday morning has been knocked down, but units are still on the scene in the Parkside section of West Philadelphia.
WPVI-TV Ch. 6
The alarm was dispatched just before 6 am for a charter school that was undergoing some construction at 51st and Warren Streets. A passing patrol car spotted the fire that is now believed to have started in the basement of the construction area. The fire traveled rapidly upward and led to a partial collapse of the building. The fifth alarm had been struck by 7 am and the fire was marked under control at 7:45.
WPVI-TV Ch. 6 has an updated report that includes some good fire footage:
Investigators will be busy for a while determining the cause of the blaze. The building is a total loss and will have to be demolished the rest of the way. There is another vacant school not too far from this one that will be made available for use to finish out the semester. A replacement school is already under construction and due to be opened in September.
