Fire marshal in Delco: 'It looked like hell, like Dante's Inferno'

Hundreds of firefighters battled a blaze at a Delaware County welding-supply company Wednesday afternoon, keeping the flames from igniting two massive propane tanks.

The fire, at Scully Welding Supply Corp. in Collingdale, broke out about 12:50 p.m. and quickly went to five alarms.

"It looked like hell, like Dante's 'Inferno,' " Collingdale Fire Marshal George Kaiser said. "The fire was at least two stories high."

The main fire was declared under control around 4:30 p.m., though firefighters worked at the scene into the night. Officials began letting almost all people return to their homes shortly after 7 p.m.

Three Scully employees were injured, including one who was seriously hurt who was reported in stable condition at Crozer-Chester Medical Center Wednesday night. Five firefighters were treated for heat-related illnesses.

While firefighters worked earlier, police evacuated hundreds of people from homes in a 3,000-foot radius of the fire, roads were closed, and three shelters were set up. Many businesses in the immediate area closed, even if they were not damaged by the flames, but a couple stayed open to help firefighters. Ice was used from the Pathmark grocery store. A Wendy's restaurant made burgers and shakes for firefighters.

Thirty fire and emergency units from Delaware County responded, and every police department in the county was represented. Fire companies from Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties helped at the scene or were on call in case fires broke out elsewhere in Delaware County.

Delaware County police said just before midnight Wednesday night that MacDade Boulevard, a main thoroughfare, was reopened.

Into the early evening, two large propane tanks - 30,000 gallons and 18,000 gallons - had been a major concern, but they were secured, according to John Moors, chief of Collingdale Volunteer Fire Company No. 1. He said the nearby Boeing Co. would soon move in with foam to smother what might remain of heat or embers.

Delaware County fire investigators and the District Attorney's Office were on the scene to investigate.

Scully also operates a propane-distribution business at the site, at the intersection of MacDade Boulevard and West Oak Lane.

When the fire broke out, a black plume of smoke mushroomed over the area and was visible from as far away as Media. Flames reached 100 feet high as shrapnel from dozens of exploding tanks rained down on MacDade Boulevard.