A blaze on the 2600-block of Welsh Road led to the city's first fire fatality of the year.

Officials from the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Fire Department spent yesterday afternoon on a safety mission after a fire claimed a man’s life Tuesday on the 2600-block of Welsh Road.

During the fire safety walk-through, residents of the apartment complex where the fire broke out, and those in nearby homes, were given fire safety kits and smoke detectors. The kits include smoke detector batteries and information on fire safety and prevention. continue reading »

Donors from around the Northeast gave blood recently at the Smylie Times Building.

Needles, the thought of needles or being injected by needles makes some people cringe, but not Derek Jackson. He said he donates blood to the Northeast Philadelphia branch of the American Red Cross “whenever they call.”

“I think [donating blood] is a necessity,” Jackson said. “I think it’s something everyone should do and I enjoy giving back to my community.”

The branch, located in the Smylie Times Building at Roosevelt Boulevard and Rhawn Street, is convenient for Jackson because he said he lives “near the neighborhood.” John Henehan, another donor from Frankford, said the branch is convenient for him too. His first time donating was at the branch’s first blood drive of the holiday season in early November.

“This is my first time donating and I like it,” Henehan said. “I’m donating because I’m helping somebody else…and I’d appreciate it, too.” continue reading »

A toddler was hospitalized after surviving a house fire early yesterday morning.

The 2-year-old was removed from a home on the 1200-block of Gilham Street, where a fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. Two homes on the block caught fire, leaving eight people displaced to Red Cross facilities. The toddler was reported to be in stable condition at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

An early morning fire at the Bradford Arms apartment complex at Bustleton Avenue and Benson Street put nearly 100 people out of their homes.

The four-alarm blaze took the life of  a woman in her 70s shortly after the new year began.

Those who were displaced are being offered shelter at Lewis H. Farrell school on Castor Avenue, and the Red Cross will provide food, clothing, hotel vouches and temporary housing at its West Philadelphia center.