Fire Philadelphia today: Crews battle massive blaze on Ridge Avenue in Francisville; all residents accounted for

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A massive fire that burned for hours in Philadelphia’s Francisville neighborhood was placed under control Monday night.

The flames broke out around 3:52 p.m. on the 1600 block of Ridge Avenue.

Chopper video showed heavy fire pouring from the third floor of the building.

Roughly 120 firefighters fought the raging blaze for more than three hours as it spread to a nearby four-story building. It was deemed under control around 7:30 p.m.

According to Assistant Deputy Commissioner Derek Bowmer, all residents have been accounted for, but several evacuations were ordered in the area due to the flames.

People on their way home from work stopped in awe.

“It’s a big fire. I was hoping no one was in there, it doesn’t look like it’s going out anytime soon,” said Mark Williams of South Philadelphia before crews got the upper hand.

Bowmer said firefighters from the newly reopened Ladder 1 were the first to respond. The firehouse, which had been out of service since 2009, reopened in December 2023.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.