Area Deemed Safe After Discovery of Suspicious Device

Residents were allowed back inside their homes after police say a suspicious device was found inside a building in the Queen Village section of the city.

PGW workers were called to a home on the 700 block of South 4th Street Monday night for a report of a gas odor. When they arrived, they found a milk jug with an unidentified liquid as well as wires inside. The wires were attached to a timer that was plugged into a wall outlet of a home.

Several houses as well as an apartment building in the area were evacuated and police as well as the bomb squad were called to the scene.

Police told NBC10 the device was set to go off at 11 p.m. and that it could have caused a fire inside the building. However, a PGW worker managed to pull the wire from the milk bottle which prevented anything from happening.

Investigators say the device is still inside the building but that the area is safe.

Police are now searching for the person who created the device and investigators are still at the scene.

Several homes on the street, including the one where the device was found, are currently under construction.

The device was located in the same area where Philadelphia Fire captain Michael Goodwin died almost a year ago.

On April 6, 2013, Goodwin was on the roof of Jack B. Fabrics at 4th and Fitzwater, when the roof of the building collapsed, trapping him inside. Goodwin was a 29-year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

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