West Philadelphia Fire

Link

The Red Cross is looking for some help.

If you wish to help:

What a shame. Thank goodness everyone was able to get indoors, definitely not the time of year to be forced outside at night.

3 major multiple alarm fires in 3 days here - we had a 4 alarm yesterday @ 2nd and Somerset as a big, vacant factory burned down.

So far the PFD has been up to the task, even with the closure of at least 6 fire stations in the city due to budget problems.

FEMA recommends due to Red Cross's inability to provide further shelter that we have to connect with Philly's county emergency management agency who are the only ones that can get quote "the president" to declare a federal case of emergency. Their line is currently busy but it's being worked on. Currently community out reach is unable to even find the families who had to leave independently to physically bring them materials.

Red Cross was only able to provide 48 hours of shelter. They have stated that they are finished.

As a resident who lives walking distance from the site, the OP's pull quotes from any alleged sources are incorrect. We have photographs of the fire department still extinguishing the block even after midnight so this "7:00pm" time is a mistake.

I did a fast google news search and this was the only article that came up. I'm sorry you don't like it. Feel free to link us to a different source.

Look Sir, I only live here. Be sorry that it's not that I don't like what you posted but the fact that you are arrogant in your ignorance to a massive crisis happening in our hood. Every phone call is redirected to a different professional who has no idea what is going on or where the families are. Call centers are still updating each other as to where to pass the hot potato meanwhile the community gathering of materials to the homeless are sitting here.

Since you have a problem with the way this situation is unfurling maybe you could just let Philadelphia members make use of your thread. However being scoffed at is really beat.

Up to the minute: the local fire department confirms quote "I have no idea." They opened a public school to some of the families and I am now on hold with the fire marshall being directed because they also quote "have no idea." where they are now.

While it is apparently official that there were no human fatalities, no one is aware still of animal fatalities.

I have just been told that our best bet at this point to have this declared an emergency is to contact a reporter. It is known that Red Cross could only provide 48 hours of shelter and no one at the city call center is aware of where these families are. Gathering materials right now is not an issue really if we can't bring them anywhere.

"under control" is not "fully extinguished". In fire service terminology a fire is declared under control when the firefighters have been able to contain the fire to a defined area.

Firefighters can still be working on hotspots long after a fire is called "under control".

From today's Philadelphia Inquirer Red Cross seeks shelter for victims of West Philly apartment fire

I've alerted the first press representative who contacts me daily about activity along Baltimore Ave to prepare for a press conference I've already been asked to initiate and just found out that one of the homeless is being housed by my neighbors downstairs.

Multiple business owners along Baltimore Ave have already volunteered their properties for press meetings in further efforts to endorse peace within the immediate and progressively active community.

According to the first up in arms business seeking to make contact with the displaced who laughed at the very mention of "Red Cross", they can simply only personally deliver food to people they happen to know, apparently "3 or 4 families."

I will be meeting with multiple property owners along Sansom St, the location of disaster at their immediate leisure and with a Sansom St home owner in Baltimore, MD on Jan 22. He has enormous community ties and financial support.

All FEMA requires is the president's signature to initiate support to what is a very serious emergency.

Shouldn't the mayor or governor be the ones taking the lead on this?

You mean this one guy here? Seems busy.

A public home facility I communicate with at 45th & Sansom St. through one of their registered nurses told me:

We need to understand that many of the people affected by the fire or applicable groups who can help directly and are do not have common familiarity with the internet or computer systems. I was then asked to do my own work to find and contact Mercy Hospice, Eliza Shirley & Traveler's Aid.

Some dispersed individuals are being housed at a shelter on Haverford Ave and above mentioned MH / ES. It should be noted that Mercy only takes women - I did not realize that families are being broken up. Children are without their parents as people have been broken up into various houses who only take women, who only take men, who only take children.

I have been asked to make something to eat, calm down and my RN will call me back either later tonight or meet with me tomorrow.

Her information was very helpful to me in understanding the further severity of this "disaster." I consider it frightening that homeless children are not with their parents.

I only learned about the shelter on Haverford simply thanks to speaking with the 18th St South West police precinct. 45th & Sansom House (I think that's their name actually) confirmed my recollection that they are indeed a shelter which personally dispensed myself and another local with a wealth of amazing food ranging from canned goods to fresh produce. I am very familiar with their various associated systems who regularly support our community from the unemployed to homeless.

I say this to confirm that yes indeed, these mostly elderly women who serve churches have no idea what to do with the internets. I've filled out my own paperwork their while their grandchildren walk about the decrepit premises. They are insanely warm and wonderful people, every location that has helped me and my friends directly.

South West Philly, site of this topic is an area that used to be so frighteningly violent people talk about their fears of coming here on the daily when they turn up for events at local places where the cops and taxi drivers still refuse to come to regardless of physical violence when we really do still need 911. The local community is so active because so many different established groups and business owners need to all network sometimes just for physical safety.

We had an incident in Dec 2010 when 6 police cars showed up to my former bar after the owner instructed me to call 911 somewhere in the area of about 40-60 minutes after 911 was called. While my life was being threatened by 2 intoxicated customers that I had cut off and asked to leave, the owner's nephew and a local veterinary surgeon stayed in the bar as the only remaining customers who also felt physically threatened and were concerned for my life. The nephew went off repeatedly about how he's been to jail and would do it again should one of the intoxicated persons continue to become aggressive.

This particular bar is well known in our area as the site of a shooting where another bartender killed a patron who held the place up. People still discuss it and the bullet holes remain in the ceiling.

It concerns me that people still fear this area and now we have myriad homeless folks.

Yesterday was fucked up. EBT systems for food stamps and cash assistance were down causing businesses to either turn people away or fill out bizarre paperwork just to take groceries and 4 city streets lights outside my house were flashing like a disco club. The lights are a continually known problem regarding flashing as a biker got creamed a few months ago by a passing car. I helped but never found out if the twitching man lived or died. Yet those lights are still broken.

I'm waiting on confirmation of his source but my housemate has posted to his FB

"the fire at the Windermere just gets shadier. first of all, it's pretty certain that the cause of the fire was electrical. the building was recently upgraded but it was only surface work, nothing to do with wiring or fuse boxes. also, apparently no smoke alarms signaled and the place did not have sprinkler system. the worst part is, the owners are from NYC." and "oh wait, I wasn't supposed to end this there. the owners are from NYC and they have said that tenants can get their security deposit back ONLY if they sign a form saying that they won't sue. WOW!"

Unclear where he got this from and will learn more.

I just visited the disaster site which is being guarded by police as it is a crime scene currently under investigation. The majesty of what remains is alarming to both witness and to also hear the still sounding fire alarms. It is an entire city block, not half and a total of 3 buildings which all caught on fire. Upon walking away, I just started crying from shock and sadness.

An officer rolled his window down and asked if he could help me. He shared that a total of 90 apartments were demolished, some housing upwards of 11 people at most. He then stated that displaced citizens continue to return to the scene to look for their missing animals. When I politely insisted that they must be dead, the officer said "People need to have hope. If they have hope, then they can hope." He kindly reminded me that due to the taped off block being a crime scene to be advised should I return to take more pictures or observe to do so across the street just to be safe.

When he asked if I'd spoken with Red Cross, I said yes and they have left but all FEMA requires is the president's signature as Nutter declared it a disaster. The officer said "It shouldn't be too hard then."

Yeah? Local friends and neighbors hissed at me after this when I was polite in saying oh you know if this was a "nicer" area there would be aid here. The hissing was in forms of "You know that's right" and "If this was Rittenhouse? Please." The same every day people who have lived here much longer than me calmly addressed that buildings are always burning down here (I live next door to one) but this just has to be the worst yet. I was also told that when the evacuation began, people were distraught to have to leave all of their animals, money and properties behind. The fire department worked tirelessly and thanks to them no one human perished but...

If you're local to Philadelphia I think you should visit this scene to gather a better understanding of an already distressed community feeling kind of heartbroken right now. It seems nearly evil that a fire consumed so much and no one is here to even address all of our friends and neighbors.

I cried standing outside one of my best friend's properties just around the corner because I just wish he could be here to help and find out which of his neighbors have been removed. I can't believe this is happening.

One of the reasons I am disappointed by the lack of proper media coverage and physical aid to the displaced and beyond is because it felt so amazingly warm to just have this young officer kindly talk with me about my concerns for my neighborhood when he saw that I was overwhelmed. The fact that he even said what he did about people just hoping they can find their dead animals made me feel better about good things in the world.

I'm going to continue battering the phone lines in the hopes of something positive in time for Martin Luther King day. It would be nice. Who knows.