10-Alarm Blaze At Philly Warehouse

Saturday, May 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHILADELPHIA (AP) â€” A 10-alarm fire in a Northeast Philadelphia warehouse Saturday sent a cloud of smoke into the sky and forced the closure of Interstate 95 and Amtrak's line between New York and Philadelphia for several hours.

The fire was reported shortly after 8 a.m. at the Eastern American Transport and Warehousing building, a warehouse in an industrial area. It took 200 firefighters about five hours to bring it under control. The cause wasn't immediate known.

No homes were evacuated, though some people left voluntarily, a fire department spokeswoman said.

Firefighters and hazardous materials crews were sent to the scene, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Amtrak suspended service between Philadelphia and Trenton for several hours because of the fire, which was near the tracks for the Northeast Corridor. The company used buses and cabs to ferry about 400 people between stations. Three of four lines were open by noon, but Amtrak warned customers to expect delays.

A section of Interstate 95 was also shut down for about two hours during the fire as a precaution because of the billowing clouds of smoke.