Emergency crews discovered more than 150 one-gallon jugs of gasoline in an abandoned house in West Philadelphia Monday night in an incident police called "very dangerous" and "very bizarre."
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said 154 gallons of gas were stashed in plastic gallon containers on the first floor of an abandoned, partially burned-out rowhome on the 100 block of North 59th Street.
Investigators found the jugs after police received a 911 call for a strong smell of gasoline coming from inside the residence around 8 p.m.
SkyForce10 was overhead as hazmat crews responded to the scene shortly after.
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Members of the Philadelphia Fire Dept. and Licenses and Inspections worked through the evening to get the containers removed.
“A very volatile, dangerous situation for 154 gallons [of gasoline], all in separate one-gallon milk containers, inside of a property, in a residential neighborhood – what a fire hazard that is,” Small said.
Police said detectives were speaking with a 37-year-old person of interest. According to Small, the man used to live in the house before it caught on fire in March of this year.
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Small said the man was in the area at the time of the discovery Monday night, and he's known to frequent the property.
Small said law enforcement will conduct a joint investigation to see why the more-than 154 jugs of gasoline were in the home, and how it was acquired.
“Is it stolen? Was it possibly going to be used for arson? We’re not certain at this time," Small said.
Detectives were also looking into the possibility the gas may have been for sale.
Adjoining homes were evacuated during the incident, police said. No injuries were reported.
Police and hazmat crews were seen leaving the area early Tuesday morning.
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