PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Fire crews extinguished a blaze Tuesday morning at a West Philadelphia row house that authorities responded to the night before for a smell of gasoline. Upon investigation Monday night, officials discovered 154 single-gallon milk containers filled with fuel.
The 911 calls started going out at around 8 p.m. Monday night. Firefighters responded to the area of 59th Street, near Arch Street.
They went into the abandoned house and found the gasoline-filled jugs on the steps of the first floor, according to police.
“Clearly a fire hazard, very unsafe,” Chief Inspector Scott Small said on scene. “And they’re in very unsafe containers.”
A hazmat situation was declared, and crews began the painstaking process of removing the jugs from the house, which still has significant smoke and fire damage from a March fire, according to investigators.
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Police said they took a 37-year-old man, who lived in the home before the fire made it uninhabitable, in for questioning.
It is not clear to investigators where the gasoline came from and what it was going to be used for.
“This gas may have been for sale, [to make] some money, or possibly can be used for more nefarious reasons — arson,” said Small. “We don’t know.”
The Philadelphia Fire Department returned to the same house Tuesday around 9:50 a.m. for a fire. It was placed under control about a half-hour later.
Hazmat crews safely removed all the jugs prior to the blaze, which Fire Executive Officer Derek Bowmer said would have been catastrophic otherwise.
“Could have been bad if that chemical was still in there. Happy that it was removed last night and we’ll continue to do our investigation as always,” he said.
The department is investigating the exact cause of Tuesday's fire.
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Residents who live in the neighboring row homes were able to get out safely. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.
Charges have not been filed in the case.