"I came outside and I looked at the abandoned property at 6065 Reinhard Street," said Shirley Kitchen Rogers
It turns out that someone broke into the abandon row home overnight and stole all the water pipes, which sent water flooding the basement.
The water also started seeping into an adjacent abandon row home and then into Rogers' basement.
She and several other neighbors called the Philadelphia Water Department, who sent a crew over to inspect the situation.
"They stood there and looked at the water condition and said they couldn't do anything about it until the morning," said Rogers.
With the water still gushing and filling up the basement, residents started to get alarmed.
"I think if it's an emergency, they should have the trucks and the manpower to come out. Why would they leave it running this long," said Patricia Postell.
After no avail, residents called again, and another crew was sent.
"They came out a second time and they told me that there was still nothing that they could do now, that they would have to come out again in the morning," said Rogers.
Hours went by and the water continued to churn in the basement. The water kept getting deeper, making Rogers and others more nervous.
Finally, residents called Action News.
When we called the water department to learn why the water could not be shut off until the next day, they promised to send a crew right away.
Just after 7:00 Tuesday evening, the Philadelphia Water Department's Emergency Response Team showed up to shut off the water.
In less than ten minutes the crew set up a pump to start pumping out the rising water in the basement.
They dug around with a shovel to locate the shut off valve box, found it with no problem and the water was finally shut off.
"I'm feeling really good because they came right away and got on the job," said Postell.
"I'm feeling a lot better. Words can't describe it and I want to thank 6abc. I thank you guys for coming out," said Rogers.
To their credit, the water department's Emergency Response Team checked the adjacent abandoned row home to make sure all the water was being drained out.
They also planned to report the two abandoned row homes to Licenses and Inspections as a public nuisance and hazard.
