A wind-whipped six-alarm fire in an auto body shop sent one firefighter to the hospital for undisclosed injuries.
According to local television station CBS3 Philly, the fire was in northeast Philadelphia and broke out in Joe’s Auto Body and Transmission in the Frankford section of the city. Firefighters, hampered by the winds and extreme cold, battled the blaze for most of Saturday before declaring the fire under control at about 3 p.m.
A witness on the scene said there was a MAYDAY issued because a firefighter became disorientated, but all firefighters were accounted for. The witness said the building in which the fire started collapsed during the fire.
The newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer said the fire, fought by 150 firefighters, spread to six other businesses.
A mother and her infant child were taken to the hospital for precautionary measures the television station reported. The Red Cross was at the scene helping at least four families displaced by the fire. Those displaced, or evacuated because of the fire were sheltered in a nearby school. The fire also disrupted public transportation in the area because of the smoke.
Media reports said there was no immediate cause of the fire released.
