3 hurt, including 2 firefighters, in massive warehouse fire in Kensington

KENSINGTON (WPVI) -- Three people, including 2 firefighters, were injured in a massive warehouse fire in the Kensington section of Philadelphia that forced two nearby schools to close.

The flames were extinguished by early Friday morning, but the debris was still smoldering at lunchtime as investigators searched for a cause.

The fire broke out after 2:30 a.m. at North American and West York Streets.

Firefighters arrived to heavy flames showing inside a vacant commercial property.

As the fire grew, three walls of the building collapsed and the flames spread to an adjacent paper storage facility, A&D Paper Wholesale and Distributors.

"Once the building collapsed, it was easier for the fire to get to the exposure. And because it was a paper storage facility, it was a lot of fuel," said Commissioner Derrick Sawyer.

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The paper inside began to burn, and the blaze quickly spread to four alarms. 120 firefighters were on the scene working to control the blaze.

"When you have an older building and heavy fire load, you have a greater chance of collapse - and once you have that collapse anything can happen. So one of the things we did do was establish a collapse zone early," Sawyer said.

Fire officials say three people were injured. A 45-year-old man was badly burned as he fled the vacant building where the fire originated.

He was taken to an area hospital with burns over 80% of his body.

Two firefighters were being treated for minor injuries. They were said to be in stable condition.

The blaze was officially put under control at 4:12 a.m., but multiple fire units remain on the scene. Demolition crews were called in to take down the remaining walls.

John Welsh Elementary School located at York and Orianna and the William McKinley School at Diamond and Leithgow were dismissed early due to smoke from the fire.

L&I says the vacant building was last inspected in March and was boarded up.

Records list the owner as Richard Paynter, who has not paid taxes on it since 2002 and is delinquent by over $11,000.

The building was scheduled to go to sheriff sale.

Onlookers said some of the structures in the area aren't properly secured and are disasters waiting to happen.

"It was bound to happen - it was a matter of time," said business owner Hector Valentino.

"Look at this building, there's nothing left but twisted steel. Firefighters or anybody could have gotten hurt," said Kid Rocco.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.