3-alarm fire hits North Philly church

Billowing plumes of smoke from a stubborn three-alarm blaze Thursday afternoon at a church near Temple University forced the evacuation of nearby residents and caused major disruptions to SEPTA's Broad Street Line.

SEPTA had to temporarily close the subway's Cecil B. Moore Station and operate shuttle buses between the Walnut-Locust and Erie Stations until around 9 p.m., officials said.

The fire in the 1500 block of North Broad Street was first reported at 2:28 p.m. and was declared under control shortly before 4:15.  No injuries were reported.

Fire officials said about 50 apparatus and 120 firefighters responded to the fire, which also resulted in the closure of Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Thompson Street.

Temple spokesman Ray Betzner said some students living in off-campus housing on Carlisle Street behind the church had been evacuated because of the smoke but had returned home Thursday night.

Traffic was snarled in the area and officials advised motorists to seek alternate routes.

SEPTA said smoke was reported in the subway area at the Cecil B. Moore Station and directed passengers to surface bus routes. The transit agency operated shuttle buses between the Walnut-Locust Station in Center City and the Erie Station in Tioga until shortly after 9 p.m., when subway service resumed with residual delays.

Service on the Ridge Spur also resumed Thursday night after being suspended earlier because of the fire.

Hidden City Philadelphia, an architecture website, reported that the art deco structure at 1512 N. Broad St. was built in 1933 and was placed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1985.

The building, formerly used as a funeral home, most recently has been a house of worship for the Original Apostolic Faith Church of the Lord Jesus.

A worship service was held there Tuesday night and that was the last time people were in the church, according to Frederick Tookes, son of the church's Bishop Ernest Tookes.

Another worship service had been scheduled for Thursday night, Tookes, 59, told the student newspaper at Temple University.

"As for now, we have nowhere," Frederick Tookes said. "So we're outdoors. As you can see, [firefighters] tried to save it, but whatever happened started in the back and worked its way. So that's the nature of it. At this time, we hope that the fire marshals will do a thorough investigation."