Raging Kensington blaze disrupts SEPTA El service
Investigators are seeking the cause of a three-alarm fire that ripped through a retail business in Kensington Tuesday morning and disrupted service on SEPTA’s Market-Frankford line.
Investigators are seeking the cause of a three-alarm fire that ripped through a retail business in Kensington Tuesday morning and disrupted service on SEPTA's Market-Frankford line.
Firefighters braved bitter cold battling the blaze that started in a two-story apparel store, which sits under the elevated platform of the York-Dauphin station on the 2300 block of North Front Street, and was first reported at 5:09 a.m.
A cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the damage extended beyond the store.
"Let's put it this way," Chief Clifford Gilliam said. "There was the fire building and it extended to three other properties."
Crews encountered heavy smoke on arrival and it took them 3 1/2 hours to bring the fire under control, though smoke continued to rise from the ruins for hours afterward.
The fire at first forced SEPTA to close the York-Dauphin station and then to stop service through the area entirely, relying on buses to shuttle passengers between the Huntingdon and Berks station during the morning rush.
The need for buses for the shuttles and fire-related detours also disrupted bus service through the area.
Normal elevated service resumed at 2 p.m.
No injuries were reported in the fire.
Smoke from the massive blaze could be seen throughout the city, with people both in Kensington and miles away posting images on social media.
