One person died following a fire on the 3200 block of Kensington Avenue Monday morning.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick J.V. Sawyer said the 38-year-old man jumped from a second-story window to escape the flames and landed on the pavement below. He later died from his injuries.

Five people, including a 3-year-old girl, were also injured in the fire. They sustained injuries from smoke inhalation or from jumping from the building, according to the commissioner.

The fire broke out in a business on the first floor of the building near the intersection of East Willard Street around 6:15. Officials said the building did not have working smoke or fire alarms.

The American Red Cross assisted nine people displaced by the fire.

Emergency officials could be seen working on a dog rescued from the building. Red Paw Emergency Relief Team assisted with injured or displaced pets.

The fire was placed under control before 7 a.m.

As officials continue to investigate the cause, both the residents and Bob Mitchell, the building's owner, are speaking out.

Mitchell told NBC10 he paid $4,000 to equip the building with an electric fire alarm system and accused one of the residents of destroying it.

"There's a red box inside the store," Mitchell said. "The red box controls the whole electronic fire alarm. There are piping and wires that were stripped by one of the tenants."

Mitchell also claims the fire was started on purpose.

"From police and ATF, there were firebombs," he said.

Officials have not confirmed this however.

Calvin Ridgeway, whose sister and niece were injured in the fire, denied Mitchell's allegations.

"I told her yesterday that she needed to move somewhere else and the place is not safe," Ridgeway said. "Next thing you know, you come here and you find out on the news that your own sister's house burned down."

Alexis Rosado, the father of the 3-year-old girl who was hurt in the blaze, also claimed conditions inside the building were unsafe.

"They were playing with everybody's health in this building," he said.

A South Jersey woman's in jail and hundreds of Sheryl Crow fans out of money. They bought tickets for a concert that was never going to happen.

Kelly Bryan, 42, was arrested by Medford police Saturday.

Bryan admitted selling tickets and promoting that Crow would perform at the Flying W Airport in Medford on August 15, police said. According to investigators, Bryan also admitted she know full well the concert was not happening.

Investigators with both Medford and Lumberton police departments got suspicious when they checked in with the airport to go over some safety precautions, and then they started getting phone calls over the weekend after this post on Sheryl Crow's Facebook page:

Dear Fans,

It has been brought to our attention that someone name KBR Promotion and Booking Agency, LLC is claiming to have booked Sheryl for a show to be held at the Flying W in Medford NJ on August 15th. This claim is absolutely FALSE.

Police estimate there may be up to 300 victims. Some shelled out as much as $700 for VIP tickets. Investigators want anyone who paid for tickets to fill out a police report. You can contact the Medford Township Police Criminal Investigations Bureau at 609-654-7375 or Lumberton's Detective Bureau at 609-267-1111 x119.

Bryan was charged with Theft by Deception and Deceptive Business Practice. She's jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail.

A stowaway was found dead aboard a cargo ship docked Monday in the Delaware River in South Philadelphia.

SkyForce10 showed an ambulance and hazardous materials crew at the scene around 1 p.m. Monday.

The ship was carrying cocoa beans from Africa.

U.S. Customs agents were investigating.

The stowaway's body will be taken to the Philadelphia coroner's office and upon identification, ultimately returned to the person's homeland.

At least three people were hurt after an accident in Bensalem.

Officials say two vehicles collided on 3508 State Road Monday afternoon. Two people were trapped in the vehicles and a third person was also injured. Emergency crews were eventually able to rescue the trapped victims.

All three victims were taken to the hospital. Officials have not yet revealed their conditions.

State Road was closed at the scene of the crash but later reopened.

Somehow, a woman survived an accident that certainly didn't look like it could end well.

The Mazda Miata crashed into a tractor-trailer on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and hit with such force most of the car was stuck under the belly of the 18-wheeler.

Rescuers from the Towamencin and Skippack Fire Departments worked for nearly two hours to get to the woman, who was conscious and appeared to be OK as she was put on a stretcher and given a kiss by her husband who was obviously happy to see her.

SkyForce10 showed emergency crews all along the bed of the UPS truck on the southbound lands of the highway on the Northeast Extension of the turnpike as they worked to get to the woman.

Part of the work was reassuring the victim — firefighters talked with her the whole time, letting her know she'd be OK and explaining step by step what they were doing. That part of the job was pure physical and in the heat and humidity, it was tough. Rescuers had to cut off a good portion of the front of the car to get the woman out. They worked in 15 minute shifts, rotating to take breaks for water and rest.

The victim, who has not been identified, was taken to Abington Memorial Hospital to be checked out for non life-threatening injuries.

Firefighters say a second person was also in the car but able to get out before emergency crews arrived. That person was also fine and taken to the hospital for observation.

The accident happened around 2:30 p.m. south of Lansdale and north of Blue Bell near mile marker 25.

Police arrested a suspect and identified an alleged gunman in connection to a caught on camera brawl that led to a shooting in Darby Borough Sunday.

Tamir Austin, 18, was arrested and charged with rioting and other related offenses.

Police say Austin was one of several dozen people involved in a large fight that was captured on surveillance video on 3rd Street and Greenway Avenue Sunday. Police released a cellphone video of the brawl which showed several men and women attacking each other with weapons. At one point a woman runs after the person recording the fight and begins to attack him or her.

The video also shows a man in a black shirt pull out what appears to be a gun.

"You could see the guy pulling the gun out of his pocket," said Darby Police Chief Robert Smythe. "He's got fatigue pants on. He takes the gun out." 

Police say the gunman opened fire though the cellphone video doesn't show the actual shooting. Six rounds in all were fired and at least one bullet struck Kiana Pittman's home.

"It's very appalling," Pittman said. "I mean the neighborhood has definitely come down. But for it to actually affect my house directly? It's very scary because someone could've been in there."

Police identified the gunman as 23-year-old Raheem Pressley and issued a warrant for his arrest Monday.

Pressley is currently on parole for a drug conviction and detectives found evidence of drugs when they searched his last known address in Collingdale, according to investigators.

"The one guy with the gun, I mean he's on parole for dealing drugs," Smythe said. "So what you got? We find drugs in the house that we turned over to Collingdale and he's got a gun. What the hell is he doing on the street?"

Police also issued an arrest warrant for Pressley's girlfriend, Tessa Mims. Mims, who police say was involved in the brawl, faces aggravated assault, rioting and weapons possession charges.

No one was seriously hurt or killed during the incident. Police credited the person who took the cellphone video with helping them track down the suspects.

"If we didn't have that film we wouldn't have known who this guy was," Smythe said. "That person was a very brave person."

Police also say they hope the person will serve as a good example for a neighborhood they believe wants their help but is often too afraid to speak out and report a crime.

"You can't have it both ways," Smythe said. "If you want your street back we'll be happy to take it back for you. But we need people to come forward and say, 'I've seen this and I've seen that.'"

A large meeting aimed at strengthening the trust between the Darby Borough community and police is scheduled to take place next Monday at 7 p.m. at the Darby Recreation Center.

One person was hurt after a school bus and van collided in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County Monday afternoon.

The school bus, which had children on board, and the van collided on Layfield and Klinerd roads. At least one person inside the van was injured. No one on the school bus was hurt.

Crews were able to get the victim out of the van. They have not yet revealed his or her condition.

This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.
 

A group of kids threw a rock at a school bus, injuring a student with special needs Monday afternoon, according to investigators.

Police say the school bus had nine students with special needs from the School of the Future in Philadelphia, two attendants and a driver on board. As the bus was traveling on 47th and Aspen streets a group of kids nearby threw a rock that smashed through one of the windows.

A student on the bus suffered facial injuries. She was taken to Presbyterian Hospital. Officials have not yet revealed her condition or age. No arrests have been made.

Police say a city camera captured the children throwing the rock though they likely won't release the surveillance video until Tuesday.

A flight from Atlantic City to Boston was delayed Sunday night because there were no TSA agents in the airport to process the pilots, so they couldn't get on the plane.

“The crowd started to get a little testy on board the plane," said Mike D'Angelo, a passenger on the flight.

The flight had already been delayed for hours, but D'Angelo said he and other passengers on the Spirit Airlines flight became more upset when they were told why they'd have to wait a while longer on the ground at Atlantic City International Airport.

“The gate agent who came onto the plane with an update said the pilots are on their way but they can’t get to the plane because there’s nobody at TSA to process them," D'Angelo stated. "The TSA folks had gone home… so they were waiting for somebody to come back to the airport from TSA.”

Spirit Flight 332 was supposed to leave Atlantic City at 5 p.m. Sunday night, but bad weather elsewhere in the country kept passengers from boarding until 8 p.m. It was nearly another hour before the pilots boarded.

“How can Atlantic City airport be without a TSA presence when there’s still people there? It’s not like this is 3 o’clock in the morning," added D'Angelo.

In a statement, Spirit explained that its pilot and first officer were delayed by weather on their prior flight. The airline noted "TSA had closed operations but reopened at Spirit's request and the crew was able to make the flight."

D'Angelo said he arrived in Boston around 10 p.m., about four hours behind schedule.

“We all know Atlantic City’s problems and I think with the airport being a front door for Atlantic City, it’s got to be a little bit more of a big time operation," D'Angelo concluded.

Spirit also says passengers were able to get off the plane during the waiting period.

The airline says it does everything it can not to cancel flights and is an industry leader when it comes to fewest delays.

This article was originally published HERE

Chris Christie’s expense account tells a story of appetite and ambition, one that pits government waste versus the New Jersey governor’s waistline.

Christie spent $360,000 from his state allowance during his five years in office. More than 80 percent of that money, or $300,000, was used to buy food, alcohol and desserts, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of records released by the governor’s office.

In addition to his $175,000 a year salary, the governor receives $95,000 a year in expense advances, paid quarterly by the state. In the state budget, it is listed as “an allowance of funds not otherwise appropriated and used for official receptions on behalf of the state, the operation of an official residence, for other expenses.”

While Christie returns surplus funds to the state each year, Treasury officials say he does not submit receipts or accounting for the public monies he spends. The governor’s ledger, obtained from Christie under the Open Public Records Act, offers a rare, if partial glimpse of a controversial expense account shrouded in secrecy.

Christie’s most notable spending spree occurred during the 2010 and 2011 NFL football seasons at MetLife Stadium, where the New York’s Giants and Jets play their home games. New Jersey’s governor traditionally enjoys free use of luxury boxes for games and other events at the government-owned venue, but food and beverages cost extra.

On 58 occasions, Christie used a debit card to pay a total of $82,594 to Delaware North Sportservice, which operates the concessions at MetLife. The governor’s office did not provide any receipts, business reasons or names of individuals entertained, but defended the expense.

“The official nature and business purpose of the event remains the case regardless of whether the event is at the State House, Drumthwacket or a sporting venue,” said Christie’s press secretary Kevin Roberts in a prepared statement.

To avoid a potential scandal that could embarrass their rising political star, the New Jersey Republican State Committee reimbursed the Treasury in March 2012 for Christie’s purchases from “DNS Sports.”  Since then, the governor has refrained from using his expense account at MetLife and other sports venues.

Meanwhile, Christie found other ways to enjoy the allowance.

The governor used it to buy $102,495 worth of groceries and alcoholic beverages from retail stores. It’s not clear from records whether the goods stocked the pantries and filled the refrigerators at Drumthwacket, the governor’s official mansion in Princeton, or the Mendham house where Christie and his family live. The store addresses were not disclosed.

Christie did most of his serious food shopping at Wegmans Food Markets, where he spent $76,373 during 53 shopping runs.  He patronized ShopRite supermarkets 51 times for $11,971 in purchases – plus another $6,536 in seven visits to ShopRite’s liquor stores.

Those grocery bills dropped dramatically in early 2013, shortly after Barbara Walters asked on network television whether Christie was too overweight to be president.

“There are people who say that couldn’t be president because you’re so heavy,” said Walters in an ABC special that aired in December 2012. “What do you say to that?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Christie shot back. “I mean, that’s ridiculous.”

Two months later, the governor underwent Lap-Band surgery in an attempt to lose weight.  Nearly two years after the operation to restrict the size of his stomach, Christie boasted he had shed 85 pounds.

It also shrank Christie’s supermarket bills.

The governor bought $64,687 in groceries during the 38 months leading up to the surgery.  That tab shrank to $31,236 for the 26 months after the operation.

On top of those food bills, Christie spent another $109,133 to hire caterers for official state receptions and special events – expenses more consistent with the stated purpose of the allowance. His favorite vendor was Jacques Exclusive Caterers of Middletown, which received $74,161 worth of business from the governor.

Other payments included $35,027 for tents and rental equipment, $10,786 for printing and office supplies and $4,338 for candy, cookies and confections.

The records released by the governor’s office did not include receipts or descriptions of what was purchased. Such secrecy would change under a bill introduced by Assemblymen Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, and Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic.

“New Jersey taxpayers have every right to know where their hard-earned money goes,” said Mazzeo. “Any governor who makes a responsible and appropriate use of this expense account should have no objection to complying with what’s required under this bill.”

If enacted, A-4424 would require the governor to disclose expenses with receipts in an annual report to be posted on the State Ethics Commission web site.

“There is a growing sense of cynicism in politics today and it is imperative for those of us in public office to overcome that cynicism by ensuring a more transparent and accountable system,” added Singleton.

As Christie’s out-of-state travel increased while he pursued his political ambitions, the governor’s state allowance expenditures decreased. During those political journeys, many of the costs have been picked by the state GOP, the Republican Governors Association and his PAC, Leadership Matters for America.

In 2010, the governor spent all but $2,716 of his state expense allowance during his first year in office.  The annual surpluses grew to $9,882 in 2011, $21,225 in 2012, $47,472 in 2013 and $30,377 last year. Christie returned those monies to the Treasury, according to records he provided.

However, the rising costs of protecting the governor on his sojourns away from New Jersey dwarfed any decreases in allowance expenditures by Christie.

The travel costs for the state police’s Executive Protection Unit reached $492,420 in 2014. It is 22 times more than the $21,704 spent in 2009, former Gov. Jon Corzine’s last year in office.

During Christie’s first five years as governor, EPU travel costs totaled nearly $1.2 million.

The governor’s office has not responded to New Jersey Watchdog’s questions about the expenses. Instead, Roberts pointed to his previous statement: “These are the same standards and practices that every other former governor followed when it comes to their security detail.”

Over the past five years, $975,000 of those security costs were charged to American Express credit cards issued to the governor’s office. Christie has flatly refused to release the monthly statements, claiming details of past expenditures could jeopardize his safety in the future.

New Jersey Watchdog is suing Christie in Mercer County Superior Court to force the governor to release the Amex records of EPU charges.