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Drums filled with heating oil found in vacant lot in Philadelphia
A large oil drum and smaller buckets were found abandoned in a vacant lot on Monday evening. Neighbors feared that the drums could be filled with flammable material that could spark a fire.
PHILADELPHIA - Residents in a Philadelphia neighborhood made a frightening discovery Monday afternoon when a oil large drum and smaller buckets were found in a vacant lot between two properties.
Emergency crews responded to the 2500 block of West Oxford Street around 5:30 p.m. SkyFOX captured men in hazmat suits investigating the scene and eventually removed the items.
Crews soon learned that the drums were filled with heating oil, but it was no less concerning for the residents of the adjacent properties.
"It concerned me because I thought that if someone lit a cigarette or match it would just go up in flames," Brittany Blackwell told FOX 29's Shawnette Wilson.
Blackwell says she spotted the drums and trash bags a few days ago and called 911 after getting a closer look.
"They were filled to the brim with what I thought was gasoline," Blackwell said. "Turned out to be heating oil, but at the time I didn't know."
It wouldn't have been the first time a mysterious and dangerous cache of gasoline was found in Philadelphia. Earlier this month, police found over 150 one-gallon jugs of gas inside an abandoned West Philadelphia home and subsequently returned to that property three more times for fires.
Authorities later said 37-year-old Darren Arnold is wanted for arson and related offenses linked to "several incidents" on the 100 block of North 59th Street on Aug. 1st and 2nd.
Authorities did not report any arrests on Monday and they did not say where the drums came friom