Fire investigators are looking into whether squatters caused a fire inside a row home in North Philadelphia on Monday night, according to fire officials.
Firefighters were called around 7:45 p.m. to West Silver Street near 9th Street and Lehigh Avenue, where a row home was on fire.
The fire marshal said the fire started inside a home that was supposed to be unoccupied. However, officials found signs that someone had been living there.
Investigators will look into whether a crime was committed as they work to determine the cause of the fire.
People were inside adjacent homes when the fire broke out, according to fire officials. Those homes had working smoke detectors, and everyone made it out safely without injuries.
Neighbors described returning home to a block filled with smoke.
“I came home from work. Nice long day and as you can see this house is burned and my house is filled with smoke. The whole block is filled with smoke,” neighbor Blake Cowan said.
Marcus Myers said he was working at a smoke shop in South Philadelphia when he received a notification from his Ring camera.
“50 minutes ago I was sitting at work working at a smoke shop in south philly. I looked at my ring camera and I saw a notification and just said fire fighters out front,” Myers said.
Video from the camera showed smoke as firefighters responded to the scene.
Myers said the amount of smoke left him concerned about staying in his home Monday night.
“It’s the first time ever seeing this. I’m a little nervous, a lot of smoke in the house. Not sure what I’m going to do tonight. I don’t want to sleep here and smell all,” Myers said.
Cowan also expressed frustration about the smoke.
“I not really too happy with all the smoke. It could be better days,” Cowan said.
The fire marshal said people living in the adjacent homes should be able to return inside Monday night, though they may have smoke damage to clean up.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
