Suspicious fire damages 4 homes in Port Richmond

PORT RICHMOND (WPVI) -- Philadelphia fire investigators are working to determine if a fire that damaged four homes in Port Richmond was intentionally set.

The fire was first reported at 1:45 a.m. Monday in the 2900 block of Memphis Street.

A loud noise woke up Mayra Matos. When she saw the flames, she got her family and started banging on her neighbor's door.

"I look outside, and all I see is the fire coming," she told Action News. "I started knocking on the next door neighbors' house. They were sleeping and heard banging. I asked for a phone to call 911."

Kimberly Colon and her husband say it was Matos' knocking that alerted them to the fire.

Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting from the first and second floors of a 2-story row house.

Down the road, residents were evacuating as other neighbors went door-to-door.

"My son's the one who heard the knock, we didn't," said Beth Hilferty. "My son woke everybody up."

An Action News viewer snapped photos, worried the fire would spread through the block.

The fire spread to three neighboring homes before firefighters gained the upper hand.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Authorities say the blaze started in one of the vacant homes.

Neighbors say there have been multiple fires here in recent months, in fact colon's family had recently moved back in after three months of repairs from the last fire.

"We just came back a month ago, now we're dealing with this," said Kimberly Colon. "This is a horrible feeling. I don't wish this on anybody."

Fire crews were back Monday morning to wet down smoldering debris.

People who live here are thankful for their neighbors who woke them up and thankful no one was injured.

"The neighbors - couldn't do it without them," said Richie Gomez.

The Red Cross was assisting a number of people who were displaced.

Investigators continue working to determine if the fire was the work of an arsonist.