PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Firefighters on Wednesday made short work of a row home fire in the 700 block of Tasker Street in South Philadelphia. Fire officials say the unoccupied row home that caught fire was the site of an earlier fire in July.
Officials say firefighters responded to a fire at an unoccupied three-story row home at 726 Tasker Street just before 2 p.m. on Wednesday. When fire companies arrived, flames were visible from the top floor. The fire was determined to be in the second and third floors, as well as the roof line.
About 60 Philadelphia Fire Department members were on the scene, according to officials. They began fighting the fire inside but soon moved back outside to attack from the exterior for safety reasons. Officials say the fire was contained and under control at 2:35 p.m.
By 3 p.m., a forest of ladders reached up from the sidewalks to second- and third-story windows, and a handful of fire trucks were still standing by. It is not clear how far the flames spread, but several firefighters were still on the scene, many of them on the roof, working on a cluster of three row homes between 726 Tasker and 730 Tasker.
There are no reports of injuries, and the Fire Marshal's Office will determine the cause and origin.
The building at 726 Tasker has been unoccupied, and the windows boarded up, since last summer, after a fire broke out there on July 31.
Neighbor Ryan La Sheen lived in an apartment next door to that home at the time. The flames spared his apartment and possessions, but the smoke did not.
"A lot of it I had to throw out. Some of it was salvageable. Fire didn't get into my apartment, but there was a lot of smoke," La Sheen said.
He has since moved to another building a few doors down. He was at work when Wednesday's fire broke out.
"I think I'm all right. The fire marshal went in. He said my place looks good."
