Kingsessing Fire Prompts Evacuations - DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

Kingsessing Fire Prompts Evacuations

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PHILADELPHIA -

More than two dozen homes were evacuated overnight as a result of a three-alarm fire at an abandoned garage in Southwest Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood.

Fire officials say the blaze was placed under control in less than two hours at 12:40 a.m., and so far there is no reported damage to homes.

Flames broke out on the 5200 block of Pentridge shortly after 11 p.m.

A total of 27 nearby homes were evacuated.

The abandoned building that caught fire is in the middle of the block on 53rd Street. However, there's a garage that runs between 53rd and 52nd streets almost the entire block behind all of the homes, and that garage also caught fire.

Neighbors tell FOX 29's Stephanie Esposito the building that caught fire in was once a firing range.

Amazingly, damage to the homes was minimal.

"Yeah, I don't think we have any homes that were damaged," Deputy Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said Wednesday morning. "What we did was the initial attack, the first-in chief protected the exposures right away to help protect those homes, and then they concentrated on extinguishing the fire. So, we evacuated the homes as a precaution."

The Red Cross set up a reception center for the 60 to 70 evacuees at the Anna Shaw Middle School, located at 5400 Warrington Avenue.

Residents may be allowed back into their homes sometime this morning.

For more updates, watch Good Day on Wednesday morning.

WATCH LIVE ONLINE: Good Day, 4:25 a.m.-10 a.m.

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