Fire at the old city apple hostel last night
Our fireworks may have been delayed until 2 AM but thankfully they bumped them up on the Delaware to 9 which meant we were on a nearby roof to notice the smoke what must have been very early on. Building was evacuated (shout out to my neighbor who literally ran into the building to wake people up) so hopefully no one hurt but the building (on the west side of bank street, not the main building across from it) is toast. The fire started from the roof so while not to speculate, there's a pretty natural suspicion given the timing. Probably the absolute best case outcome that could have been hoped for one the flames started but still a worst case scenario for a lot of tourists - more than a few people I saw sitting on benches wearing last night's clothes when I was out this morning and I hope they'll be able to get home okay.
The Trump and Parker egomania were a massive turn off this 4th (okay to be fair, it was also the Trump and Parker incompetence), but the speed and professionalism of the response really made me forget all of that and appreciate that as much as the clowns want the attention, the city is still full of professionals who actually care and do what needs to be done for us all to live here. Even after the fire was out, there was another crew doing what I'd guess was emergency demo work for hours to keep the block safe and I've never been so grateful to listen to chainsaws at 1 AM. Shoutout to the spring garden fire station & especially any of the crew who put up with the at least one small child who really wanted to meet a firefighter after seeing them in action.
(Sorry if this is kinda nextdoor-ish, but didn't see anything online and felt it was worth saying something about)