Fire Evacuations at Center City Apartment

No one from building hurt, 1 firefighter suffers minor injuries

Firefighters battled heavy flames Monday evening at an apartment building at 1720 Sansom Street in Center City.

Residents were evacuated from the three-story building that used to house a Japanese restaurant on the ground floor, according to the fire officials. Cell phone video shows heavy smoke pouring out from the building.

The fire was placed under control around 6:40 p.m.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital with very minor injuries, according to Deputy Chief Michael Wahl.

Four people were displaced by the fire, Wahl said.

Raven Lounge, which is housed next door to the where the fire broke out put out the following message Monday night to the Facebook fans:

To our Raven Fans: There have been a lot of articles already being circulated especially in the Metro that we burned down. To clarify we did not burn down. There was a very large fire directly next door to us which engulfed what was formerly Genji/Kyngo Japapanese restaurant and its apartments above. No one was injured. Although many firefighters and police were in and out of The Raven Lounge to gain access to our neighbors, the fire itself did not touch us. We would like to thank the Philadelphia Fire Department for everything. If there are any questions feel free to post here as some news media are not accurately depicting the incident. ....and yes we are still open tonight!

The Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the blaze.

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