Fire Strikes Manayunk Home

An electrical fire struck a home on the 4700 block of Smick Street in Manayunk at about 1 p.m. Friday.

Chris Croft, who lives in the second floor apartment in the converted home, which he said comprises three apartment units, was asleep when the commotion began.

Croft, who was interviewed at the scene, said he was awakened by the activity.

A little after 2 Friday afternoon, emergency officials were observed outside the home. They included police, firefighters and utility workers.

Croft said the fire, which had been placed under control at the time Patch arrived at the scene, may have caused at least one injury; one of the responding emergency officials is believed to have suffered a burned hand and had to be taken to the hospital, he said, citing secondhand reports.

That information could not immediately be independently verified. 

According to both Croft and a police officer at the scene who spoke anonymously, the fire was blamed on a piece of roofing material that may have fallen on a nearby power line.

Croft said roofers have been working atop the house for some time now, possibly fixing a leak that has plagued the residence.

Croft said when he woke up, he smelled smoke, but saw no flames.

He was unsure who called 911.

“A bunch of neighbors said they saw flames shooting up from the roof,” he said outside the home.

Croft, who stood outside the home alongside his roommate, and two guys who he said lived in the downstairs apartment, said firefighters were preparing to go through the home with thermal imaging cameras to make sure no additional flames had spread throughout the walls.

“I don’t think they had to hack open our walls,” he said, noting the downstairs neighbors might not have been so lucky. 

Croft said some neighbors lost power due to the incident. Peco Energy Co. workers were observed checking the power lines outside the residence after firefighters packed in their gear.

It was not immediately unclear who the contractors were who had been working on the roof of the building at the time of the fire, or if, indeed, it was their mistake that caused the blaze.

Croft said he believes his landlord was the one who hired the roofers.

An official cause was not immediately available. Deputy Fire Chief Carl Grymes said a cause likely will not be determined for at least 24 hours, after fire investigators have a chance to conduct a thorough review of the incident.