Fralinger String Band Waits To Survey Damage From Garage Fire
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Members of Fralinger String Band were hoping to get in this morning, to see if anything is salvageable. They say all their tools and their props were in the building, pretty much everything except their costumes and instruments.
But, fire crews are still putting out hot spots, and they say there's a partial collapse of part of the building, so no one can get in right now.
Fralinger Captain Thomas D'Amore says they're hoping for the best, but they'll do whatever they need to do to be ready for New Year's Day's Mummer's Parade.
And he adds, their bigger concern is the neighborhood here.
"We can rebuild the props, but some people lost their homes, and they might have lost everything that was cherished to them. We want to make sure that the word's out there to send thoughts and prayers and any type of donations to them as well. They probably need it more than we do, to be honest with you."
The fire destroyed a row home, a couple families had to be evacuated and an elderly woman taken to Jefferson Hospital. She's in stable condition.
The city's office of Licenses and Inspections says the owner of the property has been previously cited and fined for running an unlicensed auto repair shop here.
