Fire damages day care, church and store in Cobbs Creek
COBBS CREEK (WPVI) -- Firefighters battled a fast-moving fire that damaged four properties in Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek neighborhood.
The fire started in a vacant property around 1 a.m. Wednesday on the 600 block of South 60th Street.
Fire crews say the blaze started on the first floor and spread to other buildings.
The vacant property housed apartments above. Officials say two squatters were inside that building. They are both okay.
A day care, church and sneaker store were also damaged.
The day care was already temporarily closed before the fire.
The small church in a converted-row home was recently renovated.
One resident who lived above the day care said his fire alarm alerted him.
"It was like hell on earth. It was terrible. But thank God, I'm alive. It was so heavy - really, really heavy. The smoke was black, jet black," said Babatunde Olabode.
A firefighter suffered a twisted ankle and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The fire marshal is trying to determine the cause of the blaze.
