Three-alarm building fire causes traffic problems in Northeast Philadelphia

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Parts of the Roosevelt Boulevard were shut down on Friday morning as firefighters battled a three-alarm blaze in Northeast Philadelphia.

The fire erupted around 8:45 a.m. in an auto body shop on the 2000 block of Bennett Road near the Boulevard.

Four employees inside the building were able to escape.

Arriving firefighters were met with multiple challenges.

"It was all challenging because you couldn't access it from railroad side, so we had to fight it from three sides instead of four like we normally do," said Deputy Commissioner Craig Murphy.

The proximity to the railroad also created water supply issues.

"Right at the railway the main is underground... they stop right at the railway, so that's what the problem was. They were drawing so much water from the hydrants here that it creates a vacuum inside the hydrant system," said Murphy.

Roosevelt Boulevard was shut down in both directions as water was pumped from hydrants on the other side of the major thoroughfare.

The fire was placed under control around 10:30 a.m but crews remained dousing hot spots.

No injuries were reported.

There was no immediate word as to what sparked the fire.

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