nbc 10 breaking news. >> nbc 10 breaking news at 6:00 begins live over this breaking news in center city, crews on the scene of a fire at an apartment building. this is locust street near 21st. you can see the flames from this fire. no reports right now of injuries. we do know the building has been evacuated. we have nbc 10's rosemary connors on her way to that scene. we'll continue to monitor the situation and bring you the very latest. >> and really tough conditions for firefighters out there right now and a bone chilling blast of arctic air sitting over our area. we are bundling up, bearing the cold as we track a winter storm this weekend. good evening, everyone, i'm jim rosenfield. >> and i'm jacqueline london. >> first, sheena parveen is tracking the cold tonight. sheena, wind chills making conditions feel even worse.

>> wind is still gusting outside, still cold, making it feel close to 10 degrees below the actual temperature at the moment. right now in philadelphia with the wind feels like 15 degrees, 14 in allentown, 14 in northeast philly, 11 in millville and wilmington and the poconos feel like 3 degrees. look at the wind, it's still up sustained near 15 to 20 miles an hour, gusting closer to 25 to 30 miles an hour, and this wind is going to stay with us through the rest of tonight. better day as we go into tomorrow afternoon, but still it's going to feel quite a bit colder by tomorrow morning. take a look at the top line, the temperature will be staying around 20 degrees through the overnight hours and by 7:00 a.m., but the feels like temperature when you factor in the wind that will be with us feeling closer to 10 degrees through the philadelphia area by 7:00 in the morning, so it is going to be cold again, bitter start to the morning, then we'll be watching the winter storm. >> all right, sheena. >> the timing is heading our way this weekend with some

uncertainty to the exact track, right? >> conditions could vary depending where you are. >> that's right, we're watching two scenarios right now with that winter storm. we've been talking about it since yesterday and even over the weekend. we'll talk about the first scenario, because as of today computer models are changing a little bit, so that would really determine who gets the heaviest snow here. not a big shift in the track, but the first scenario would keep the track closest to shore. we would see the snow moving in throughout the overnight hours going into saturday. heavy snow moving into the area through the day saturday and then clearing as we go into sunday, but areas north and west of philadelphia, heaviest snow, even across the philadelphia area changing over to a wintery mix. new jersey and delaware would see it start to snow, then transition to rain. the second scenario, some of the computer models showing this, storm track farther offshore, so that would then change the position of where the heaviest snow would fall. at this point going into the midnight hours saturday, snow only approaching the area.

then we go through the day saturday, that heaviest snow positioned closer to shore with that area of low pressure farther offshore, so if you're through the lehigh valley and poconos, much lower amount of snow with this situation. philadelphia would see snow and new jersey and delaware would see the heaviest of the snow. two things to watch, many updates coming in through the rest of the week and coming up a closer look at the scenarios and more about the storm. all right, updates in our weather and updates also on this breaking news. we're taking you back to the scene, live pictures right now from sky force 10 of the flames. they are trying to get a handle on this but right now it doesn't seem as though it has been contained in the times we have gone back to the picture. we can tell you this is an apartment building in center city, philadelphia. the location is locust streets near 21st. the building here, this apartment building which we don't have a name of yet has been evacuated. and right now the great news is no reports of injuries. we have our crews headed there

with rosemary connors on the way to that fire to get more information on how this started, whether or not anyone is hurt and how long before they might be able to get a handle on it. >> you see the firefighters there on the roof working with flashlights, as well, in the cold tonight. and speaking of the cold, this cold weather has business booming for a local home heating repair center. >> a broken heater can be costly to fix but dangerous if you don't. nbc 10's deanna durante is live tonight in plymouth meeting. >> you spoke with one man whose house was nearly as cold as the temperatures outside. >> reporter: yes, it was a rude awakening for him and others who have woken up or stayed in their homes with days of heaters of not working. >> i just woke up and noticed i was really cold. >> reporter: with no warm air filling the house, it was getting colder by the minute. >> first i put on layers, then i make the call, get some coffee in me. >> reporter: this afternoon help arrived and this repair wasn't

too expensive. a clogged tube was an easy fix. but in norristown, one local family's repair work, anything but quick. >> old heater has a cracked heat exchanger and stopped working. needed to be replaced because it would be dangerous to try to keep running it. >> reporter: in this case, the family was lucky the heater stopped running. >> it could be dangerous, yes, eventually the carbon monoxide could leak into the air of the house. >> caller: t >> reporter: the family has been without heat for days. one contractor gave a price of $7,000 to replace the heater. davis says it would have been a huge mistake. >> it was oversized for the house, which means that it doesn't really work properly heating the house. >> reporter: which is why davis said the heater burned out. he said bigger doesn't always mean better or more efficient. when replacing a heater, make sure it's appropriate sized for the house. too big can overheat.

davis says always get estimates and don't be pressured to be signing with the first bidder or most expensive bid. he also suggests to avoid a surprise heater failure get inspections and yearly service and change filters frequently. now he also says that if a company tells you it costs more because they are busy or because of the weather, then maybe you should check in with another company. he says reputable contractors will offer flat rates for at least that initial call. reporting live in plymouth meeting, deanna durante, nbc 10 news. i want to go back to breaking news in center city over the apartment fire near 21st street on locust street, firefighters still actively working this scene. you see the flames there shooting from the roof. firefighters on what looks to be a nearby building, adjacent building's roof, as well, as they work to get the fire under control. we understand more equipment has been called to the scene. our sky force 10 reporter jeremy hoff is in sky force 10. looks like the thing is far from

being under control, right? >> reporter: yeah, right now when we first took off from penn's landing there was a thin wisp of smoke and when we got here, there was a little bit of flames coming through the building. and the firefighters were all lined up, you know, typically trying to break holes in the roof and vent everything out and they were working frantically, but the fire recently took off and they had to jump off the roof here to the other side. i think for their own safety, but they had been cutting holes in the roof and had to abandon over to this side. i don't see any water being put in from the roof, but there are hoses and things run down on the streets, maybe into the building. >> all right. >> reporter: fire is definitely growing. >> we should emphasize there are no reports of anyone hurt here. nbc 10's rosemary connors is on her way on the ground. you see the fire equipment there on the left of your screen, we saw those firefighters on the roof closer to the flames a little bit earlier, and as you push in there, look what the

firefighters are doing, trying to pierce some holes into the roof right there where they are right now trying to get these flames under control. this is, again, an apartment building on locust street in center city. firefighters working hard in the cold to try to get this thing under control. we'll continue to keep an eye on this and update you as we get more information. firefighters are close to those flames. jackie? some of the most vulnerable in this cold weather, your pets. a jersey shore dog owner is facing animal cruelty charges after two dogs were left out in the cold to die. we want to warn you the images are disturbing. here's a look at some of the those dogs. ted greenberg spoke with neighbors about the crime. >> reporter: the puppy was dead and frozen, another dog barely alive. now investigators say she, too, has died after both animals were left outside in brutally cold weather.

>> i think it's very sad and shouldn't happen. >> it's really heart breaking. >> reporter: atlanta county spca investigators say the dog houses outside a home in buena vista township provided hardly any protection from the frigid air. they say they initially got an anonymous call monday about a frozen puppy in its dog house, but when they got there, authorities say they also found a cold, severely malnourished older dog, possibly the puppy's mother. she was rushed to a veterinary clinic and died overnight. >> i don't understand why a human would leave an animal, defenseless animal outside in this freezing temperature. >> reporter: authorities say this brutal cold can be tough on most dogs, but the chances of surviving become even more slim for those that are under weight. >> please bring your animals indoors. there's no excuse to have more animals dying in this extreme cold weather. >> reporter: investigators say the puppy appeared to be less

than six months old and was also under weight. the dog's water bowls, they say, were filled with only ice. authorities would not identify the owners or their exact address because they are still preparing to file animal cruelty charges, including failure to provide proper shelter, adequate food, and veterinary care. they hope to officially file those charges tomorrow. >> i think whoever did it should suffer the same thing. >> reporter: ted greenberg, nbc 10 news. and taking you back to this breaking news in center city, philadelphia, doesn't look much has changed, in fact, as we heard from our reporter in sky force 10, looks as though the flames are getting stronger. this is an apartment building fire in center city. jim, as we can see, firefighters were up there on the roof, they have scaled back a bit because at one point they were very close to the flames, then trying to inch back because you could tell that the heat was so much and they did call for more crews

to come out there and more equipment to try to battle this strong fire. >> nbc 10's rosemary connors has just arrived on the ground. rosemary, what can you tell us? >> reporter: i'm here with one of the residents who lives on one of the lower floors of this apartment building. describe to us what happened earlier tonight, what you saw, what you smelled, and what time it was. >> about about 30 minutes ago i remember, my alarm started to go off, and i went outside the building and went outside my door to see what was going on and i went back in because nothing happened, then i saw one of the residents come down and he said there's something going on on the third floor, you know, so i gathered my things, whatever i could, quickly went down to outside. as i was going down, there was smoke starting to build up on the lower floors. we got out. then right on the corner of van

pelt i was looking up at the third floor and we could see smoke starting to come from one of the third floors. then fire rescue showed up just at that moment. they started to put the ladders out and everything, then started to go into the building and everything. we thought it was going to get under control, but then it got worse and worse and they've been starting to bring out more fire trucks and told us to get back further because it seems like it's going to be hard to control. i hope everybody got out, though. >> reporter: we've heard no injuries reported. what do you know on that front? >> i have no idea. i think everybody got out, i hope. we tried to knock on as many doors as we can. some of my other fellow tenants are here, too, with me. >> reporter: one of the residents in this apartment building, thanks for being with us. you heard him say it has been a tremendous effort out here just within the past half hour. certainly, the conditions are making it difficult, it's cold and it is very windy and that may be why the flames have spread even more.

we'll continue to keep you updated. reporting live on locust street in center city, rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. >> all right, rosemary, we'll continue to bring updates as we get more information. also watching the weather closely, let's go over to sheena. >> we do have a strong west wind, so it would be blowing the smoke towards the delaware river at the moment. also we're watching a winter storm into the rest of this week. we have two separate scenarios which could mean heavy snow for some, not for others.

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it's the best game yet. 'cause you're on it? well... keep on scratchin'! once again following breaking news in center city, philadelphia. this apartment building, this is 2122 locust street. it's a three-story apartment building that is heavily engulfed in flames. you see those firefighters there on the roof. we just heard from a resident who said the fire alarms went off about half an hour ago at this apartment building in center city. >>un fortunately, everyone madet out safely. let's go out to rosemary connors on the ground. rosemary? >> reporter: jacqueline and jim, just a moment ago i saw the assistant fire marshal pass by. he's been trying to talk to residents to find out what they saw, what they smelled, was anybody smoking in the building. i asked him, i said do you know of any injuries, he said at this

point we do not. as of now that's the good news. just an incredible scene out here. these flames continue to fan and spread. when it gets to be freezing conditions, that makes things tough in terms of fire hydrants and hoses that are trained on these flames. to give you some perspective, this neighborhood, residential neighborhood here in center city, locust street between 21st and 22nd, a lot of row homes. obviously, this building may once upon a time been a row home housing families, but now it's been broken up into apartments. in fact, the resident i spoke to said he believes there may be as many as 20 apartments in this building, but again, a lot of neighbors and families out here who have also evacuated their homes because that's the concern. when you have row homes next to each other, the flames may spread. so a lot of neighbors are outside. they want to know what's going on and also they want to be safe. i should also tell you that police have pushed us back further away from this fire

because it is not under control, as you can see. again, we're going to be out here throughout the evening to be watching this and we'll keep you updated. reporting live in center city, rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. >> of course, we don't know what contributed to the fire, but this time of year when the weather is so cold, often you hear about space heater fires and people doing everything they can to stay warm. unfortunately, certain cases can lead to danger. >> we don't know the cause at this point, little early in that, but we know a weekend storm is on everyone's minds right now. >> sheena, you've been tracking changes. >> yes, we'll be talking about these changes, two different scenarios. also outside going back to the burning building in center city, it is very windy right now, west wind, so if you're in old city part of philadelphia, you may already be seeing that smoke heading your direction and towards the delaware river, then towards camden. it's going to stay gusty and cold for the rest of tonight, so firefighters are definitely going to be dealing with the elements tonight. the winter storm coming by the end of the week, molds

uncertainty, but we do expect snowfall. the question will be, which part of the area will see the heaviest snowfall, so i'll show you that in a second. right now in philadelphia 27 degrees, we are below freezing and with the wind sustained at 15 miles an hour, but gusting closer to 25, 30 miles an hour. feels like 15 degrees, definitely windy and very cold outside. north and west of philadelphia we feel like 10 degrees in reading, 14 in allentown, feeling like 11 in millville, 14 in dover. it's going to stay cold and windy through the overnight hours tonight. tomorrow morning, another bitter start, but we should be staying nice and dry. at least that's the good news. off to the west, though, parts of illinois we have some snowfall here, very small system could bring us a few light snow showers late tomorrow night, not everybody. then all the moisture around the pacific northwest as we go into the end of this week and into the weekend. the future feels like temperature before we get to the

winter storm tomorrow morning walking outside feeling around 10 degrees, so maybe not as cold as this morning where we felt close to zero, but certainly 10 degrees is a cold feels like temperature. through tomorrow evening feeling 20, 25 degrees by 10:00 p.m., then light snow showers trying to move in. then we go into thursday, a dry day, and friday is when the storm system gets closer. there you see it friday at 5:00 p.m., rain and snow down to our south. we are watching two different potential tracks for this system, a very small change in the track, could mean a very big difference. we'll talk about the first one first, most likely track option number one where the storm stays closer to our coastline. that would give us heavier snow north and west of philadelphia. snow across philadelphia mainly, then a changeover to rain closer to the shore and some of our delaware beaches. that second track would move in farther offshore, heavy snow for new jersey and delaware possibly with much less into the lehigh valley and the poconos, but, of course, we'll have much more

updates later on tonight at 11:00 and through the rest of this week. we know things do change as we get closer. for tonight, though, temperatures staying in the teens, windy and cold tonight. tomorrow will be not as windy or cold through the afternoon, but temperatures still in the mid to upper 30s but quite a change from the wind and cold we've seen. by the end of the week we'll be tracking that winter storm, especially into saturday. back again to our breaking news from center city, this fire at 21st and locust. we understand from our assignment desk that some of these flames have started spreading to a neighboring building, as rosemary said, these are row homes, buildings connected, so we continue to watch this developing story, live update just ahead.

back to our breaking news. rosemary connors on the ground at the scene at 21st and locust. an apartment building fire. rosemary? >> reporter: jacqueline, we've gotten a bit more information. one person was taken to the hospital but issues related to their heart, so may not be related to this fire. that makes sense because when we were pulling up here, so was an ambulance. give you another live look at the ground of the scene between 21st and 22 7nd, these flames a just burning out of control. as you can see from sky force 10, incredible fire here, firefighter crews are working very hard to make sure this does not spread anymore. from what we know, it may have spread to a neighboring building, and that's the concern to try and maintain this. right now, to try to keep it contained so at least the area they are working with, i spoke to an assistant battalion chief coming through here, told me

this still remains at two alarms, may grow more and they are doing their best to make sure that doesn't happen. a quick note here on traffic, the area around walnut and locust, spruce, it is backed up. if you have anybody heading to the schuylkill expressway down walnut street, please pass along it's going to be jammed and congested for the next half an hour or longer. reporting live in center city, rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. >> all right, rosemary, many families going to need a place to stay for the night and some time to come, obviously. we'll be right back.

doug pederson faced the philadelphia media for the first time as head coach of the eagles. off the field pederson says his family is thrilled to move back to the area. on the field pederson says the eagles haven't won in a while and it's his job to turn it around. and before we leave you, another last look at this breaking news in center city, this apartment fire, crews still

working to contain it. it has been upgraded to three alarms. we'll continue to watch this throughout the evening. >> see you back here tonight at 11:00. tonight. sarah palin endorsed donald trump, a major move rallying conservatives, as trump tries to fight off ted cruz. the impact on the race. it is a disaster. an admission about the toxic water crisis that poisoned potentially thousands of children. a governor under fire, residents now fighting back. the major snowstorm about to wallop a huge part of the country after three feet of snow. al roker is here. a freed american speaks after years held by iran. the u.s. marines powerful message as another american family has a loved one still missing, said the government betrayed them. and now is the time. if you are planning to fly this spring or summer. what you should be doing in the next