Four people, including two children, died in an early-morning fire that broke out in a rowhome at 5250 Chancellor Street. The children, 2 and 4 years old, died at Children’s Hospital where they were transported with severe burns. The other victims are the children’s mother, 23-year-old Rishya Jenkins and grandfather, Seneca McClendon, 75, a retired postal worker known as Mr. Chuck, Philly.com reports.

The fire was reported about 4:42 a.m. and declared under control at 5:23 a.m. Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said “firefighters found nothing to indicate there were working smoke detectors in the rowhouse.” The fire apparently broke out on the first floor and its cause is under investigation.
 

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Reader Scott Buchanan emailed us with this information:

“…On Monday (Feb. 20) the house at Spring Garden & Budd Street (in West Powelton) burned out. The one resident, an older gentleman named Victor Martinez, had been living there for 14 years but now has no place to go. He’s able to stay at the Red Cross Home through Friday, but he doesn’t have any family and is on a very limited income, which is making finding a new residence extremely difficult.

Another neighbor (Sarah Esposito) and I have been trying to organize the neighbors to help get him afoot again.”

Scott and Sarah have set up this page where you can donate money to help Victor:

https://www.wepay.com/donations/gifts-for-victor-martinez

West Philly resident Susan, who lives at the corner of St. Bernard and Springfield, lost the entire third floor of her home in a devastating fire last Saturday. Two of her cats died in the fire. Intense water damage has rendered the lower two stories and the basement unlivable for now.

While Susan is temporarily staying with friends, her remaining cats are still residing in the house as they have nowhere else to go. Susan is looking for temporary housing for them. She writes:

“…kitties are all freaked and living under rather unhealthful conditions, with the noisy and major internal work now underway, still smoky air, very wet floors, mold starting to grow, etc. I am trying to find foster homes, even for one or two, here and there, for about eight weeks, until they say we can all move back in. They are all sweet cats, great company, very people-oriented, and cuddly — especially warm when the weather starts to turn cold. Can anyone open their homes for a furry feline for a couple of months? I would gladly pay for food and other supplies during their stay… So, far, I have one volunteer for one cat. Believe me you would enjoy their presence… I have always found them comforting.”

If you’d like to help Susan, or know someone who might, please write her at: susaniris [at] msn.com or call 215-435-5273.

A fire destroyed the third floor of a three-story building at 4006 Market St. this morning. The building houses the Bo Sing Chinese restaurant on the first floor. The fire appeared to have started on the third floor of the building. Firefighters had to cut part of the roof off to check for flames. A cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

We’re really late on this, but we wanted to get it on the record. Some may have seen the burned-out taxi on Chester Avenue between 45th and 43rd last week. A power line came down on the cab at about 11 a.m. on June 1. We heard about the incident but didn’t think much of it until we saw the photos.

The taxi burst into flames and the emergency personel folks basically had to watch it burn until PECO showed up to turn the power off. Nobody’s fault, but some pretty interesting pictures. Phil Forest has a series of photos of the whole thing going down.

Demolition crews knocked down the last couple of walls at the Windermere Court Apartments at 48th and Walnut Streets on Saturday. Fire devastated the building on January 10 and led to a protracted battle between residents, the building’s owners and the city. A class action lawsuit against the building’s owners, David and Sam Ginsberg, was filed in February.

There has been no announcement about plans for the half-block lot where the buildings once stood.