Briefly... CITY/REGION

Body found in warehouse fire

Firefighters yesterday reportedly found a 70-year-old man dead inside a vacant warehouse that caught fire on 49th Street near Paschall Avenue in Kingsessing.

The blaze started about 1:30 p.m. and took about 45 minutes to extinguish. The man's name was not released; fire officials said he might have been a squatter. The cause of the fire was unknown.

SEPTA ups service for game

SEPTA plans to run special service today to accommodate the extra passengers heading to the makeup game between the Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings.

The Broad Street Line's "Sports Express" service is scheduled for the 8 p.m. start at Lincoln Financial Field. Express trains will leave Fern Rock Transportation Center every 10 minutes between 6:08 p.m. and 7:38 p.m. en route to AT&T Station.

Local and express Broad Street Line trains are also in service throughout the day.

Back to school for principals

The weekend's major snowstorm shut down schools yesterday, but principals and assistant principals are expected to report to school today.

District administrative offices, which opened two hours late yesterday and closed early, will also open on a regular schedule today, according to the school district's website.

Students, who are on winter recess until Jan. 3, aren't scheduled to show up, said a district spokesman. Meanwhile, all early-childhood centers are closed.

No gas leak in Abington

Authorities in Abington say they believe the spill of a chemical that smells like natural gas led hundreds of residents to think there was a gas leak.

Abington Township Fire Marshal Kenneth Clark said about a gallon of a substance believed to be mercaptan spilled yesterday. The chemical is added to natural gas to give it a detectable odor.

Clark said residents are not in danger.

- Staff and wire reports