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The resident from the 2300 block of St. Alban’s Place bounded out of bed early Monday morning, peered out the window and saw black smoke — so thick, she couldn’t tell what was on fire or how close the danger was.
After throwing on clothes and running outside, she discovered the source of the flames.
Blocks away, Philadelphia was losing one of its National Historic Landmarks, as a five-alarm fire raged out of control at the U.S. Naval Home at 2400 Grays Ferry Ave.
The fire marshal cited the cause to be arson, said Executive Fire Chief William Brightcliffe. Earlier this week, an investigation was still under way to determine who was responsible.
The blaze originated in a shed on the second-floor balcony at the rear of the marble-columned Greek Revival edifice at 12:22 a.m., Brightcliffe said. Fire spread through the roof, attic and third floor, with flames shooting 50 feet into the air, officials said.
Firefighters had a difficult time getting water and equipment to the home because of the distance of the site from the street and fire hydrants, Brightcliffe said.
More than 135 firefighters battled the blaze before Fire Commissioner Harold Hairston ruled it under control at 2:14 a.m.
Grays Ferry residents who gathered in the bitter cold stared in shock and dismay.
"It was just the worst thing I’d ever seen. Whoever did this is a cruel, cruel person. The fear and loss to the community is incalculable," said one heartbroken resident from St. Alban’s Place.
She and some other neighbors, shaken by the news the fire had been deliberately set, didn’t want their names printed.
The U.S. Naval Home had been vacant since 1976, when it was declared a National Historic Landmark. It is also listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.
The building was designed in 1826 by William Strickland, the architect of the Second Bank of the United States, the Merchants Exchange and the steeple of Independence Hall.
Built around 1830, the home was part of the Quaker almshouse system that evolved into the modern-day hospital.
"It is a nationally significant site because it was part of the city’s historical almshouses for the poor," said Grays Ferry resident Lisa Parsley, a registered nurse who has studied the history of the area. "Almshouses collected data from their charges to allocate resources and to better understand and treat the ill and destitute."
In 1832, the home served as a naval hospital and asylum for sailors.
"This building was very important to medicine, just like Pennsylvania Hospital," noted Parsley.
For a brief time, the structure was the first home of the U.S. Naval Academy before it moved to its present location in Annapolis, Md., in 1845.
At one time, the building also served as a naval retirement home.
In 1988, Toll Brothers, Inc., bought the building for $1.2 million and, eight years later, announced plans to build townhouses and apartments on the Grays Ferry site. That proposal was refined over the years, but never came to fruition.
The Huntingdon Valley-based developer was so inundated with press inquiries after the fire Monday that media spokesperson Kira McCarron faxed the following statement to news organizations: "We are very saddened to learn of the fire early this morning at the Naval Home. It marks the loss of a great landmark. Thankfully no one was hurt. We had hoped that the building would be the centerpiece of a tremendous community to be built on the site. It is too soon to tell the future status of the affected building."
As for the future of the site, McCarron said development is still in the works.
"We are awaiting final approvals and continuing feasibility studies," she said. "Plans are not finalized for any development."
Some residents who gathered near the Naval Home after the fire alleged that Toll Brothers did not maintain the property. Over the past several years, the building has steadily deteriorated, and the front of the structure was covered with graffiti.
Easy access also made the building a haven for rodents, squatters and drug addicts, claimed two local residents.
"This is one of the best-kept tragic secrets in Philadelphia. Toll Brothers has systematically run this place into the ground for the past 16 years," said another resident of St. Alban’s Place.
The residents said they repeatedly complained to the city and Toll Brothers about inadequate security, vandalism, drug use and squatters.
McCarron maintained the developer had received no such reports. She added that residents should be calling the police, not Toll Brothers, about squatters and any illegal activity observed on the site.
However, the developer has a history with the Department of Licenses and Inspections that seems to support some of the neighbors’ claims.
L&I; spokesperson Andrea Swan said that Toll Brothers was issued a demolition-by-neglect citation last summer. The city was in the process of taking Toll Brothers to court to address the issue, but halted further action because the company said it was in the process of rehabbing the building and working with political leaders, Swan said.
"In light of this, we had delayed our enforcement activity," she said.
McCarron insisted Toll Brothers was living up to its obligations and disagreed with the city’s charges of neglect.
"I can tell you that we’ve been protecting and securing that building for the past 16 years," she said.
During the first years of ownership, a security guard was based at the site 24 hours a day, said McCarron.
"Based on our experience over the years, we came to believe that round-the-clock security was just not warranted. We do have a guard there eight hours a day," a company official said.
The developer also claims it "periodically inspects the property" when the guard is not there. Additionally, the developer agreed to give Philadelphia police keys and 24-hour access to the property, the official said.
The day after the fire, L&I; said the U.S. Naval Home would be declared "imminently dangerous," and Toll Brothers would be ordered to hire an engineer to perform a structural assessment that could lead to a date with a wrecking ball.
Concerned citizens have formed a grassroots initiative to save the historic site. Parsley issued the following statement on their behalf: "Supporters are working to publicize the unique historical attributes of the site that would be lost if the structures were demolished. We do not oppose the redevelopment of the property, as reported in the press, provided that Toll Brothers follows the guidelines that it agreed to that regulate historic structures in Philadelphia, or else sells the property to someone who will make minimal efforts at stewardship. We feel the stone structure is still in good shape, as are the outbuildings."
For information on the effort to conserve the U.S. Naval Home, e-mail ljlong@earthlink.net
