Fire disrupts lives in Kensington

At least 20 people cannot go home and an unknown number are unable to show up for work after a six-alarm fire ravaged a Kensington warehouse yesterday. PECO shut off power to scores of customers, and El service was disrupted.

An investigation is underway into the fire, reported at 4:25 p.m. yesterday at FixtureOne, 1338 N. Front St. Ron Dascenzo of FixtureOne - marketer of store fixtures, cabinetry and showcases - said this afternoon that the company was not prepared to comment.

Mayor Nutter, who visited the site this morning, said it was "too early" to say when the 20 residents evacuated from the 1300 block of Hope Street and on Front Street would be able to return home. The evacuees are staying with friends and relatives, he said.

SEPTA is busing El passengers between the Spring Garden and Berks Street stations, and hopes to reopen the closed section of track by rush hour tomorrow, spokesman Felipe Suarez said.

"We got a break as far as ridership and inconveniencing our regular passengers," he said, noting that today is a holiday.

Power has been restored to the majority of the more than 100 PECO customers affected, spokesman Michael Wood said. Eight customers will remain without power indefinitely, he said.

About 160 fire department personnel responded to the fire, said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers. Firefighters placed the blaze under control at 7:30 p.m. No injuries were reported.

"It was like a lumberyard in there," said Ayers, who joined the mayor at the scene. "Furnishings, display cases, lots of wood . . . It made for a hot fire."

Ayers said FixtureOne comprised a three-story building, a four-story building and a one-story addition, on the south side.

One wall, near the El, is being taken down by hand to avoid a collapse onto the tracks, Nutter and Ayers said.

"Once we get that wall down, we're going to make another assessment," said Ayers, adding that it's likely the entire business will need to be razed.

It was unknown how many people worked at the site, but Ayers said a shift had worked yesterday

"There's going to be a lot of folks affected, jobs, livelihoods," he said. "People want to come to work. They need to get a paycheck."

John Grone was among residents affected. One of the 20 who were evacuated, he returned to his rowhouse in the 1300 block of Hope Street this morning to find that his two pythons had not survived.

"They're gone. They're dead. They froze to death," said Grone, who was allowed in only to rescue the animals he had left behind. In addition to the pythons, two rottweilers, Jasmine and Bucca, were in the house and a no-name turtle.

A firefighter carried Jasmine from the house this morning because of her age, about 15, and Bucca exited on leash. The turtle remained because workers wouldn't let Grone go upstairs to get it.

Grone, who lives with his parents, two brothers and a sister, said the family bolted as soon as they saw flames at the warehouse. Flammables are kept in the warehouse, across the alleyway that runs behind their row, he said.

The Grones, who are staying with relatives nearby, are among the eight customers who remain without power. The power will be restored once the fire department deems it safe to do so, said Wood, of PECO.

Power was shut off to six customers last night, then to an additional 97 customers this morning because of a damaged power pole. The pole most likely was struck by an emergency vehicle or sprayed with water that then froze on it, Wood said.

As for Grone, he was mourning at least one python, Arthur, whom he had hand-fed as a baby.

"It's going to be hard," he said of the 3- to 4-foot snake.

Grone said he named the python for his cousin Arthur Kent Miller, who was beaten to death at Master and Hancock Streets about a year ago. Miller was 19.

As for the other python, well, she won't be missed so much.

"I named her a curse word because she snapped at me," Grone said.