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Firefighters knock down 4-alarm scrapyard blaze in Kensington

The two-alarm blaze was reported just after 8:35 p.m. at Tulip and Somerset Streets.

Firefighters battle a three-alarm junkyard fire at Tulip and Somerset Streets in Kensington, Tuesday, July 10, 2018.
Firefighters battle a three-alarm junkyard fire at Tulip and Somerset Streets in Kensington, Tuesday, July 10, 2018.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

Firefighters Wednesday afternoon remained at the scene pouring water on the smoldering embers of a Kensington junk yard fire that burned out of control for three hours Tuesday, spewing smoke that could be seen for miles around before darkness fell and flames that lit up the night.

One firefighter reportedly suffered a non-life-threatening injury — a fall at the fire site. No fatalities were reported.

The cause of the fire at Tulip and Somerset Streets is under investigation.

The blaze was reported just after 8:35 p.m. and climbed to four alarms before being declared under control shortly after 11:35 p.m.

Officials said the massive scrap pile — on property that is bounded on one side by train tracks that lead to freight terminals along the Delaware River —  consisted mainly of metal, wood and paper. The property has been a source of neighborhood complaints but was not directly adjacent to any homes and firefighters contained the blaze to the site.

The smoke was visible for miles before sunset.

The business is named Philadelphia Metal and Resource Recovery and is owned by a company operated by Theresa Hamilton and Denna Hodak, both of Titusville, Pa. The owners declined to comment.

In a separate blaze overnight, two people were found dead after a fire in a North Philadelphia rowhome.