Southwest Philadelphia fire sparks concerns over PECO power lines

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Electrical lines caught fire in Southwest Philadelphia on Thursday, sending two children to the hospital and forcing more than a dozen residents out of their homes.

First responders were called to the 1900 block of South 65th Street just after 1:30 p.m.

Several homes were damaged, and about 700 customers also lost power during the incident.

After the power lines caught fire, video showed one man on the sidewalk. You could see his shirt burned off his body. Witnesses say he stepped on a live wire.

"Literally froze position and his shirt caught on fire and his skin was peeling from his flesh," recalled Kenneth Clark of the frightening ordeal.

According to PECO, the fire was started by multiple mylar balloons hitting the power lines. It then spread to the homes.

However, the union representing the linemen sent us pictures. They say the cross arm was rotted out and gave way after the balloons hit the lines and that led to a bigger problem.

"We have brought this pattern, I guess you could call it, of concern about the infrastructure for a long time. It's old. It needs to be fixed. Needs to be upgraded. And it's not, so when things like this happen, they are worse," said Larry Anastasi, the IBEW Local 614 president.

Anastasi says aging infrastructure poses a threat to line workers and the public. He says a similar incident last month in Upper Chicester, saying a house caught fire after an aging cross arm fell.

We brought these concerns to PECO. They say they regularly inspect and maintain lines, and the problem was with the balloons.

They went on to say, "There is no indication that the condition of our equipment exacerbated the event."

It's important to note, the union will be negotiating a new contract with PECO soon, and Action News asked if incidents like what happened on Wednesday would come up.

"Yes, this does tie into that. If the infrastructure was better, maybe you could get and keep people, and also it wouldn't be as dangerous to work on," said Anastasi.

Repairs are now underway on the homes that were damaged.

Officials say those injured are expected to recover.