At least three or four surviving cats have been pulled from apartments devastated by fire yesterday at Windermere Court Apartments. The feline aid organization City Kitties is offering help to pet owners whose cats survived the fire. The West Philadelphia-based organization has established an emergency fund for boarding, pet sitting, follow-up veterinary care, food, litter, carriers, and other basic needs.

For those affected by the fire, a form is available here to apply for funds. That same link provides a Pay Pal button for those who want to donate to the fund.

They write:

“We will not be able to write checks directly to victims, but will be able to purchase supplies for you, reimburse expenses, or pay vendors directly (veterinarians, boarding facilities, etc) up to a specific amount.”

Many residents were able to take their pets with them when they evacuated, but don’t have a place for them now. The PSPCA is housing many of those and the vet hospital at Penn is providing free medical care.

There are a number of ways people in the neighborhood can help out the victims of yesterday’s fire at the Windermere Court Apartment complex at 48th and Walnut Streets.

The Salvation Army center in West Philadelphia at 5501 Market St. is accepting a variety of donations, including clothing and linens. The center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Although the main entrance is on Market Street, it is easier to access from the back on Arch Street, where the door to the storage facility is located.

Here is an interview with Natasha Rush of the Salvation Army:

The Red Cross Philly, which is operating the shelter at the Locke School at 4550 Haverford Avenue is asking donors not to bring cash donations or clothing to the shelter. The best way to donate to the Red Cross, which is providing emergency supplies and spending money for the victims as well as connecting them to counseling and other types of services, is to donate on the website.

Here is an interview with Dave Schrader with the Red Cross:

12:25 p.m.: We just stopped by the Salvation Army center at 5501 Market St. and confirmed that they are accepting donations of clothing and other household items. The entrance to the center is on Arch St. They are open until 4 p.m. today and open at 9 a.m.

11:03 a.m.: We just heard that the Salvation Army center at 5501 Market St. is accepting donations of anything accept furniture. We are trying to confirm that. Their phone number is 215-474-1010.

10:35 a.m.: We just got off the phone with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. The Red Cross, again, suggested making donations at their website and urged people NOT to bring cash to the shelter at the Locke School at 46th and Haverford. The Salvation Army will issue vouchers to victims to shop for clothing at the Salvation Army Thrift Store (likely the one at 2140 Market). The person at the Salvation Army headquarters suggested dropping off clothes there. We’re now told that the best place to drop off donations is at the Salvation Army Center at 5501 Market St.

9:10 a.m.: We just returned from the fire scene. Firefighters are still spraying the northeast corner of the building. A firefighter we talked to said it would probably be “a couple of days” before residents will be allowed back in their homes to retrieve belongings. The heaviest damage seems to be the northwest corner of the building, where at least two floors are destroyed. That’s where the fire was heaviest when we arrived yesterday about 3:45 p.m. It spread east from there.

Just a reminder that West Philadelphia High School and Henry C. Lea Elementary are both closed today in the aftermath of the fire yesterday at the Windermere Court Apartments complex at 48th and Walnut Streets. Also, SEPTA has rerouted the 21, 31 and 64 buses around the scene. We’re still trying to track down the exact detour route and we will post here when the routes are restored.

Many victims of the fire, which displaced folks from 89 apartments, are staying at an emergency shelter set up at the Locke School at 46th and Haverford. Red Cross workers will provide counseling and services there this morning, including the passing out of emergency debit cards. Red Cross Philly has asked those who want to help to donate money at its website.

Given what has happened in the past here with big fires, though, we suspect there might be some help organized in the neighborhood. Please let us know in the “comments”  if you hear of anything.

We will continue to update this story as details come in so check back and send us any info you want to share with neighbors to editor – at – westphillylocal.com.

Here’s a banner running at the Red Cross website (click to enlarge):

Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers speaking at about
7:30 p.m. as firefighters brought the blaze at 48th and Walnut Streets under control.
(Photo by West Philly Local)

8:35 p.m.: Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said 89 of the 90 apartments affected by the fire were occupied. Ayers said the fire, which appeared to have started in the northwest corner of the building, moved east toward 48th Street. “It went west to east through that building pretty fast,” Ayers said. He did not speculate on a cause.

So far about 100 residents have registered with the Red Cross at their shelter at the Locke Alaine School at 4550 Haverford Ave., according to Red Cross Philly CEO Donna Palmieri. She said the youngest person displaced by the fire is a 4-week-old baby. Palmieri suggested donating money to Red Cross Philly rather than clothing or supplies so that the Red Cross can buy exactly what the families need, everything from medication lost in the fire to offsetting costs for lost driver’s licenses. Individual case help will be available beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at the Locke Alaine School at 4550 Haverford Avenue.

“Most of the families right now are in pretty good shape,” said Palmieri. “They’re distressed about the loss. They’re concerned about their pets and their belongings.”

8:29 p.m.: School officials announced that West Philadelphia High School and Henry C. Lea Elementary School will be closed on Tuesday. West Philadelphia High School was used as a temporary shelter in the early hours of the fire.

7:40 p.m.: The fire has been contained. A city worker was injured and taken to the hospital, according to fire commissioner Lloyd Ayers.

6:50 p.m.: The fire has spread to three sections of the building along Walnut Street.

Firefighters battle blaze from northwest corner of the Windermere Court Apartments complex at 48th and Walnut Streets. (Photo by West Philly Local)

A five-alarm fire is blazing at the southwest corner of 48th and Walnut Streets at the Windermere Court Apartments, a multiple-section four-story brick building. The fire appears to have begun on the top floor of the far west building but has spread to an adjacent building.

UPDATE: Here is some raw video of the fire shot at about 4 p.m.

Fire officials could not confirm whether anyone was trapped in the building or how the fire began.

Several residents reported that there was no warning when the fire started at about 2:35 p.m. Many said they did not hear a fire alarm.

An evacuation center has been set up for those displaced from the building at the Locke School at 46th and Haverford Avenue.
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The Garden Court Community Association is offering grants of up to $700 for sidewalk repairs, tree pruning and planting and a variety of other block improvements. The grants require a dollar-for-dollar matching by the block in labor, in-kind services or cash. The grants are available for blocks within the Garden Court neighborhood – 45th Street to 52nd Street and Locust Street to Cedar Avenue.

Possible improvements include:

• Professional tree pruning

• Planting new street trees

• Sidewalk repairs

• Development of lawns between the curb and sidewalk

Applications require at least two people on the same block living in different households. At least one applicant must be a member of the community association. Grant applications are due Feb. 1 and the grants will be announced March 1. Grant applications are available here.

View Garden Court in a larger map

The Global Leadership Academy Charter School at 5151 Warren St. “cannot be salvaged” after a five-alarm fire this morning, according to the school’s website.

The fire began at about 6 a.m. in the school’s basement, according to reports, and quickly engulfed the school. A police officer passing by the school at about 6 a.m. spotted flames in the basement of the building. The school announced that it will keep students up to date with automated phone messages.

About 500 students grades K-8 attend GLA Charter School, which is scheduled to begin the 2011-2012 school year at a new building near 46th and Girard.