Massive Northeast Philly fire brought under control

Firefighters have brought a massive fire near an elevated subway line under control in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood.

The three-alarm blaze started around 5 a.m. Tuesday in a building of stores and unoccupied apartments near SEPTA’s York-Dauphin station.

Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer says it then spread to two other businesses.

Flames shot from the roof and plumes of thick black smoke could be seen for miles. The fire was under control around 8:15 a.m.

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Sawyer says there were no injuries.

Executive Fire Chief Clifford Gilliam says single-digit temperatures caused ice to form quickly and caused some hydrants to stop working.

Service on the Market-Frankford subway line is being replaced by buses between the Huntingdon and Berks stations.

The fire is near where two firefighters died in a five-alarm warehouse fire in April 2012.

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