A fire tore through a basement this morning forcing two dozen residents to evacuate their apartments.

The blaze broke out in the basement of a three-story building at 1818-1820 Spring Garden Street in the city’s Spring Garden neighborhood shortly after 8 a.m.

No one was hurt, according to Philadelphia firefighters.

Firefighters battled back flames but the blaze wasn’t immediately under control because it affected a gas main and a PECO transformer so Philadelphia Gas Works crews and PECO crews were also called to the scene, according to the fire department.

It took crews until almost 10:50 a.m. to bring the blaze fully under control.

In total 24 residents were displaced, according to firefighters.

It isn’t clear if icy weather that knocked out power around the region played a role in this blaze. The exact cause of the fire is pending an investigation, according to firefighters.

The early morning ice storm caused power outages for more than half-a-million people across the Delaware Valley, including more than 80 percent of customers living in Chester County.

"It is devastating," said 42-year-old Mai Vance, who lives in North Coventry Township.

The ice caused trees to fall in the region, taking power lines out with them. Plus the heavy ice weighs down lines on its own.

At one point, 183,983 customers out of the 212,900 served by PECO in Chester County were without power.

The energy company says it could take multiple days to make all the necessary repairs throughout the region and some could be without power through the weekend.

The widespread outages caused the  American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania to setup warming centers in Chester County.

The centers are loated at Lionville Middle School at 550 W. Uwchlan Ave., Exton and the Avon Grove High School at 257 State Road, West Grove.  Food, drinks and comfort items like soap will be provided, but officials encourage residents to bring games, books or other items to make themselves more comfortable.

Vance says school was canceled for her two teenagers, so she intended to work from home. The outage nixed those plans, but that is the least of her worries.

"We have no power, we have no heat, we have no water," she said. Normally an electric pump brings water to her home from a well, she said.

• READ: What to do During a Power Outage

The family keeps jugs of water in the basement to drink, wash up and flush the toilets and they'll snack on pantry items since they can't cook their food.

But the chilly temperatures - expected to drop into the low-twenties overnight - are a bigger concern.

"We will last as long as possible here, but if it gets too cold ... we'd have to leave," said Vance, who can take her family of four to a relative's home in Phoenixville.

She says she called PECO about the outage moments after it occurred at 7 a.m., but the power company did not give an estimated time for when her lights would turn on again.

"They usually do," she said.

Another Chester County resident, Tracey Arnold of Cochranville, had the same experience when she called PECO immediately after her power went out Wednesday morning.

The Red Cross has been told to be prepared to keep its warming centers open for at least four days and up to six days, according to a spokesman.

"I haven't seen this in quite awhile," said 41-year-old Arnold, who knew it was a serious situation when PECO didn't offer any estimates.

Despite having to use a sick day from her management position at Bank of America, Arnold is focused on her other job for the day - keeping her three kids, ages 16, 15 and 11, entertained.

"We are staring at each other," she said. "They don't know what it's like to be my age when we didn't have so much technology."

Vance, who is home with her 16- and 14-year-old kids, added their "biggest fear" is they can't charge their devices.

• Snow Day: 7 Ways to Keep Kids Busy Indoors

Like other parents across the region, they are dusting off board games and pulling out decks of cards.

Regardless of the situation, both moms are in good spirits.

"At least we are all in it together," Vance said.

Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of people in the Philadelphia region are stuck without power, with many of them facing the possibility that they won’t get it back for days.

Now what?

For those who aren’t used to living off the grid, and don’t have a backup generator, there are many last-minute measures to help weather the outage.

First, call the power company to report the outage. PECO customers can do so at 800-841-4141 or on its website.

Then focus on staying warm. Avoid opening front and back doors. Dress in layers. Wrap in blankets. Pick a room where everyone in the house can gather. Cuddle. Cover windows with blankets or sheets. “That elevates the heat in that particular area of the house,” said Dave Schrader, spokesman for the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

An added touch, recommended by survivalists: set up a small tent, or make a fort, like you did as a kid.

Never use candles. Don’t use an oven or stove to warm the house, either. But if there’s a fireplace, take advantage. Just don’t leave the flames unattended. Make sure the fire is out before everyone is asleep. Check the carbon monoxide alarm to see if it’s working. If there’s a battery powered radio, keep it close.

“Hunker down as best you can and keep informed,” Schrader said.

When it’s safe to drive, try to find relatives or close friends who have power and ask to stay with them. “Now’s the time to call in that favor,” Schrader said. Include pets in the plans.

At the same time, check in on friends, family and neighbors to see if they need help.

Eating also helps stoke body heat. But do it strategically. Work through perishable food first. The refrigerator will keep food cold for four hours if it is kept unopened, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Don’t risk consuming anything beyond that point.

Food in the freezer remains safe as long as it still has ice crystals on it, the USDA says. If the food is starting to thaw, put it in a cooler and stick it outside, in the snow.

Prepare for power to be restored by turning off all sensitive electronic equipment that could be damaged from a sudden surge: televisions, microwaves, computers, audio components. Leave one light on so it’s clear when power returns.

There’s also the risk of freezing pipes. Opening faucets to a drip can prevent this from happening.

Finally, if all else fails, find a shelter. The Red Cross is in the process of setting up shelters around Chester County, where outages are most widespread. For more information, visit the Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania's website or its Twitter feed, @redcrossphilly. Or, download the mobile app.

"Bring your patience and your understanding," Schrader advised. "It's not going to be ideal."

But it will be warm, and safe.

Thousands of people across the region spent the night in the dark, dealing with freezing cold after losing power.

The second winter storm this week knocked out electricity to almost entire counties and caused traffic problems from major highways to small side streets thanks to downed trees and icy conditions.

A day after the storm hundreds of schools remained closed including Villanova University, which remained closed through the weekend.

• Get the latest school closings, delays

Spots that melted during the day Wednesday refroze overnight as heavy winds gusted to 20 mph, creating the risk of even more outages due to trees toppling on power lines.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett issued a State of Emergency for Pennsylvania Wednesday night as thousands of residents across the region remain in the dark. Montgomery County also declared a State of Emergency following the storm.

• Chester County Emergency Services
• Montgomery County Emergency Services

Early Thursday morning, about 430,000 homes and businesses remained without power, down from a peak of 849,000 Wednesday, Corbett said in a briefing at the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency outside Harrisburg.

Corbett said he has signed a disaster emergency proclamation, freeing up state agencies to use all available resources and personnel. Corbett plans to tour hard-hit Blue Bell, Montgomery County Thursday so he gets a first-hand look at the damage.

"People are going to have to have some patience at this point,'' Corbett said, warning that an overnight refreeze could cause more problems on the roads Thursday.

While some of the ice melted on Wednesday, many of those same areas refroze early Thursday due to the cold temperatures.

"As we go overnight and into Thursday morning, refreezing will be taking place," said NBC10 First Alert Weather Meteorologist Sheena Parveen. "Any snow that's melted, wet sidewalks or roadways will be refreezing again because temperatures will be dropping down below freezing as we go overnight."

Sheena says temperatures won't go much above freezing, if at all, over the next three days which will limit the amount of melting.

Temperatures were the low 20s in Philly and the teens in the North and West suburbs overnight. Temps should struggle to get to 30 during the days before dropping back between the teens and low 20s during the night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

That's bad news for thousands of customers left in the dark.

The icy conditions from the second storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers -- more than 83 percent of PECO customers in Chester County alone at one point -- around the region as ice weighed down power lines and caused branches to break.

PECO, worked through the night to restore power to more than 500,000 customers, warning that it could take until the weekend for some people to get their electricity back.

Due to the refreezing and gusty winds, there could be even more outages over the next few days.

"The weight of the snow and ice on some of the tree branches may cause some more to break," said NBC10 First Alert Weather Chief Meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz.

• Tips for driving on ice
• Sign Up for School Closing Alerts
• What to Do During a Power Outage

Widespread Power Outages

PECO officials said it could take multiple days to make all the repairs and, for some customers in heavily damaged areas, power could remain out through the weekend.

The widespread outages led the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania to open warming centers in the area.

• County by County Power Outages

In Chester County, residents without power can head to Lionville Middle School at 550 W. Uwchlan Ave., Exton or Avon Grove High School at 257 State Road, West Grove. In Bucks County, the Red Cross has setup a warming center location at Maple Point Middle School at 2250 Langhorne Yardley Road, Langhorne.

• Red Cross Warming Centers

The centers are providing food, drinks and other comfort items like soap, but residents are encouraged to bring books, games or other items to pass the time. Pets are also welcome. If you see exposed wires, don't touch them -- instead call your local utility provider.

• Power outage tips

Aside from knocking out power, the downed trees damaged vehicles and homes, causing injuries as one man was crushed by a falling limb. 

About 1/2 of an inch of ice fell in Wayne, Delaware County as Northeast Philadelphia and Trenton, N.J. reported nearly 1/3 of an inch of ice.

The icy mess caused wrecks around the region including crashes and downed trees on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), Route 30 and the Pa. Turnpike. A tree sprawled across U.S. Route 1 northbound at Maple Avenue in Bucks County causing delays.

• Get the latest traffic from NBC10.com

Plenty of local roads were blocked by trees and, with power knocking out traffic signals, drivers should treat those intersections as four-way stops.

It wasn't much better on the rails. Amtrak suspended service between Philly and Harrisburg through Thursday morning and up to four of SEPTA's Regional Rail lines were suspended with the closure of the Paoli/Thorndale and Cynwyd Lines continuing through Thursday morning.

"The issues that we’re having right now are trees," said SEPTA deputy general manager Jeff Knueppel during the height of the storm.

SEPTA said to track delays and cancellations on the SEPTA website but the site slowed to a snail's pace Wednesday due to heavy web traffic.

• DOWNLOAD the NBC10 Weather App
• Track Winter Weather With NBC10's LIVE Interactive radar

More Snow Coming

A third system will move into the area over the weekend with the potential for more winter weather. Glenn says it's too early to determine how bad it will be however.

"I wouldn't call it a storm at this point," he said. "It's the next chance of some snow."

Villanova University will remain closed through Friday due to a power outage.

“The University’s power provider (PECO) projects an extended power outage in our region, which effects both power and heat on the campus,” said David Tedjeske, the school’s Director of Public Safety.

Tedjeske says the entire campus, including the Villanova Law School, will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

“We encourage all on campus resident students, who can travel safely, to return home,” Tedjeske said.

An emergency generator will be used for students and staff who are still on campus.

“An emergency generator has been located and will be installed in Dougherty Hall,” Tedjeske said. “Dougherty will therefore be fully heated and providing hot meals, water, snacks and takeaway food by sometime this evening. Students will also be able to recharge their phones and laptops in Dougherty.”

All buildings on the Villanova campus have emergency generators that provide emergency lighting and operate building fire alarm systems. Water, snacks and food will also be available at Dougherty Hall, which will stay open through the night.

Public safety officers will remain on duty in on-campus residence halls while Resident Assistants will carry two-way radios for direct communication between campus residence halls and the Public Safety Department.

“We encourage students and families to stay in communication as the outage continues,” Tedjeske said. “The University will continue its efforts to restore power by attempting to obtain additional emergency generators, as well as to provide additional options for students who are unable to leave campus, should the outage continue beyond tonight.”

Villanova officials will provide updates for students and staff through their Nova Alert system. You can call the school’s Public Safety Department at 610-519-4444.

The outage at Villanova is only one of hundreds of thousands across the region due to an ice storm that slammed the area Tuesday night into Wednesday.

PECO Energy, the largest power provider in the Philadelphia region, tells NBC10.com outages are creeping toward 700,000 customers. Officials say that's record levels for a winter storm.
 

A man and a woman were killed after their car collided with another vehicle in Lehigh County.

Officials say a man between the ages of 50 and 55 was driving southbound on State Route 309 in Lynn Township around 2:35 p.m.

As he was driving, officials say he somehow collided with another vehicle. The man along with his passenger, a woman between the ages of 50 and 55, were both injured in the crash. They were both pronounced dead around 3:50 p.m.

Officials have not yet revealed whether the other driver involved in the collision was hurt. They also have not yet identified the victims but say they were both from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

Both the Lehigh County Coroner's Office as well as Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the accident.

Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.

Also on NBC10.com:

• Elderly Woman Struck by Car
• Power Outages Reach Record Numbers
• 1 Dead After Car Flips Over on City Ave Bridge

Here is a list of open supermarkets in our area. *Note* This list will be updated throughout the night

Acme: 320 W Dekalb Pike, King of Prussia, Pa., (610) 768-4100 (Open until 11 p.m.)

Acme: 829 Montgomery Ave., Penn Valley, Pa. (610) 668-1738 (Open until 11 p.m.)

Acme: 1150 Welsh Road, Lansdale, Pa., (215) 361-3500 (Open until 11 p.m.)

Acme: 121 E City Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, Pa., (610) 667-7021 (Open until 11 p.m.)

Giant: 50 E Wynnewood Road, Wynnewood, Pa. (610)642-5206 (Open 24 hours)

Giant: 116 Township Line Road, Haverotwn, Pa. (610) 449-1161 (Open 24 hours)

Giant: 830 US 15, Dillsburg, Pa. (717) 638-1230 (Open 24 hours)

Giant: 550 E. Lancaster Ave., Wayne, Pa. (610)-989-0781 (Open 24 hours, limited service due to no electricity)

Whole Foods: 339 E. Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, Pa. (610) 896-3737 (Open until 9 p.m.)

Whole Foods: 821 Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, Pa (610) 688-9400 (Open until 9 p.m.)
 

A winter storm has devastated the area, creating a record number of power outages, dangerous roads and downed trees.

We’ve created a Facebook Page for victims of the storm to use to help solve each other’s problems.

Like and Follow the Iced Out PA page to share tips, suggestions and ideas with others throughout the region on getting through the storm's aftermath.

You can also use the hashtag #IcedOutPa on Twitter to share your questions and suggestions.

Also on NBC10.com:

• Icy Spots to Last for Days Due to Refreezing
• Power Outages Reach Record Numbers
• Icy Mess Downs Trees, Knocks Out Power, Stops Traffic

PECO officials say some of the nearly 700,000 customers who lost power Wednesday could remain in the dark for several days as crews work to repair lines.

To help those dealing with outages, the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania and some local schools have set up warming centers.

• READ: Charge Your Devices at Comcast Service Centers

Officials encourage residents to bring any items they need to make their stay more comfortable including games and books to keep children entertained.

CHESTER COUNTY:

Avon Grove Intermediate School, 395 S. Jennersville Road, West Grove
**Residents requiring transportation can call: 610-344-5195**

Lionville Middle School, 550 W. Uwchlan Ave., Exton - OVERNIGHT CENTER

Barkley Elementary School, 320 Second Ave., Phoenixville

Sykes Student Union, 110 W. Rosedale Ave., West Chester

Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School, 2875 Manor Road, West Brandywine - ***Bring your own easy-to-prepare food and water.***

BUCKS COUNTY:

Maple Point Middle School, 2250 Langhorne Yardley Road, Langhorne - OVERNIGHT CENTER

MONTGOMERY COUNTY:

Cheltenham High School, 500 Rices Mill Road, Wyncote - OPEN AT 7 P.M.
***This is a "special needs only" shelter for the use of individuals with caretakers and equipment. Use Panther Road entrance to access.***

Hatboro-Horsham High School, 899 Horsham Road, Horsham - OVERNIGHT CENTER - OPEN AT 9 P.M.

Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Ave., Fort Washington

Horsham Township Municipal Building, 1025 Horsham Road, Horsham

Lehman Methodist Church, 300 S. York Road, Hatboro

Lower Providence Township Building, 100 Parklane Drive, Eagleville

Montgomery County Human Services Center, 1430 Dekalb St., Norristown

Upper Perkiomen Valley YMCA, 476 Pottstown Ave., Pennsburg

With more than 600,000 people in southeastern Pennsylvania and another 30,000 plus in South Jersey without power Wednesday, many families are doing something they haven't had to do in a long while -- put down their mobile devices and actually spend time with each other.

In North Coventry Township, 41-year-old Mai Vance anticipated grumblings from her children about the inability to use their smartphones.

"They will start to complain that they can't charge anything," she said.

Like others families stuck in the dark, the mother of two plans to go "old-school" by passing time with games and conversation.

And experts say Vance and others can use the power outage as an opportunity -- although forced -- to teach kids to disconnect.

"You don't even have to tell your kid to put their phone down [with the power out]," said Dr. Nicole Lipkin, a psychologist and owner of Equilibria Psychological & Consultation Services. "Do things we all used to do when growing up because it helps us learn how to be present with each other."

Lipkin acknowledges the difficulty in breaking the habit of incessantly checking mobile devices, which are always within reach and notes it could be especially tough for youth, who are "digital natives."

"It is actually triggering the same part of your brain that is triggered when you eat chocolate," she said. "Even if you hate your technology, it is basically sending a message to the reward center of our brain."

She suggests parents start by being a role model and putting their own phones away while their kids are present.

"We are social creatures. We learn from watching each other," said Lipkin, who suggests having a family game day and catching up on each other's lives through conversation.

And the long-term benefit to kids are even greater than the immediate gain of quality family time.

"We know that being able to have a real conversation, to be mindful, to be present, is very much part of our own development," she said. "It helps teach us emotional intelligence."

Dr. Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple University and a former president of the American Psychological Association, adds that the bad weather and powered-down devices give families a chance to teach kids about generosity - a key ingredient in empathy - through example.

"Bundle them up and see if they can help snow clearing at an elderly neighbor's house," Farley said. "Kids will learn that there is a life beyond their mobile device."

Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter.