Community Corner
Fire at Hope Gardens Temporarily Displaces Six Families
Crews encountered a heavy smoke condition inside of the building, but the majority of the fire had already been knocked down by the building's sprinkler system.
Six families were temporarily displaced after a late-night fire struck the Hope Gardens Shelter on South Spring Garden Street on Tuesday night.
County dispatch received multiple 9-1-1 calls around 10:21 p.m., with callers stating that heavy smoke was pouring out from inside the building. Police from Ambler, Whitpain and Upper Dublin were the first to arrive to the scene, and they safely evacuated all residents of the building, according to Chief John Leadbeater of the Wissahickon Fire Company.
"We really had great help from the three police departments," said Leadbeater.
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As crews from the Wissahickon and Fort Washington fire companies arrived to the scene, they encountered a heavy smoke condition inside of the building, but the majority of the fire had already been knocked down by the building's sprinkler system. They then traced the source of the fire to a kitchen on the second floor.
"It was really more of a smoke issue than a fire issue," said Leadbeater. "It would have been a lot worse if the sprinklers weren't there to knock it down."
Find out what's happening in Lower Gwynedd-Ambler-Whitpainfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury to their finger, and a total of six families were temporarily displaced due to water damage. Leadbeater added that he believes the families could be back in their apartments as soon as this evening or tomorrow.
In the mean time, members of the Red Cross were on scene to help make arrangements for the displaced families.
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