Two days ago, a large warehouse at 2nd & Wharton burned, and the big story was that a Mummers group using the building for storage may have lost their New Years props. Yesterday, members of the Fralinger String Band were relieved to learn that most of their equipment was saved due to the presence of a fire wall in the building. While the Mummers were apparently very lucky, some nearby residents were not, as one home on the block was likely destroyed by the fire and three others were badly damaged.

Two days ago

The Fire Department has indicated that a faulty wire caused the fire, but that could mean any number of things. According to numerous reports, the building was being used for certain unlicensed activities, including auto repair and residential uses- perhaps it may be discovered that the faulty wire was present due to one of these alleged illegal uses. According to the Daily News, the City had cited building owner Joseph Sigismondi for illegal uses earlier this year, but these efforts did not prevent the fire.

The long-term implications for the building and the neighborhood are far from clear. It seems very likely that the property owner will receive significant insurance payouts for the damage to the building, but it’s also probable that he will have numerous lawsuits on his hands from any and all parties affected by the fire. While we can’t speculate on who would win in any such lawsuit, we feel confident that the process will be extremely drawn out and expensive on all sides. Could this result in the sale of a building that appears to have been a nuisance presence in the neighborhood? Could a developer step in and turn the building into loft apartments? Or could someone step in and demo the building, and simply build some more homes? Certainly seems possible, given the development activity in the area.

The building. She's got some nice bones.

Clearly, this story is far from over, but we’ll be keeping an eye on the situation moving forward. We send our best wishes to the near neighbors who have been impacted by the fire, and hope that things are back to normal soon. And regarding this particular building, we hope that a new and better normal comes into focus in the months and years to come.