Flames Shooting Up From Car Lead Police to Charred Body of Man Inside

Flames shooting into the air from a car led police to find the charred remains of an unidentified man early Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Officers responded just before 1 a.m. to the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Bellmore Street in the city’s Kensington section after someone reported that a car parked on the sidewalk had caught fire, Philadelphia Police Department Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

Police and firefighters arrived to find a Cadillac sedan fully engulfed, with flames shooting 8-10 feet into the air, Small said. Once the fire – which burned the entire interior and some of the exterior of the car – was put out, authorities found a body burned beyond recognition in the front driver’s seat.

The car did not appear to have been involved in any type of accident that would cause the fire, Small said, adding that other cars in the area were also parked on the sidewalk at the time. It also did not have a license plate, but detectives tracked the vehicle identification number to a property about two miles away, the chief inspector said.

The fire marshal was investigating whether the fire was caused by an arsonist, Small said. Police ruled the death suspicious.

Detectives were checking surveillance cameras in the area for clues and were going to the property where the vehicle was registered to see if they could gather information on the deceased.